Memory Is All We Are
by DisneyOUATgirl1437
Summary: Serena never asked for any of this. She never asked for her parents to send her to Duel Academy. She never asked for Duel Monsters to be in her life. In fact, she hated them! And, she definitely never asked for her fate to rest on her shoulders by dueling! But, seeing there's nothing she can change, she might as well make the most of her time here.
1. Prologue

**Well, hi! This is my very first 'Yu-Gi-Oh! GX' story, so I decided to do my take on it, and I hope you'll like it! I only own my OC's!**

_Slowly opening my eyes, I sat up. I usually had a good eyesight, but mist around me was so thick I couldn't see a thing. The only thing I knew was that I somehow ended up here. But, the question was __**how**__._

_I slowly stood up while looking around. Still, there was nothing to be seen, or heard. That was until I heard a crack behind me. I quickly turned around in a bit of panic. Usually, small noises like this didn't surprise me at all. However, I was at disadvantage here. I couldn't see anything, which was what made me a bit afraid. That noise could be anyone, or anything!_

"_Serena…" A deep, male voice asked calmly. Suddenly, a dark figure came out of the mist, right in front of me. I let out a yelp and jumped away from it in panic. Then I decided to take a good look at it from head to toe. The only thing I could see was it was way taller than me. "Who are you?!" I demanded. "That's not important to you." The unknown person responded._

_I folded my arms with a frown. "The question is, who are __**you**__?" He then demanded. My eyes widened a bit in surprise. "And why would you want to know that?" I demanded suspiciously._

"_I'd like to know that too." Another male voice suddenly said those words from behind me. I quickly turned around yet again. The new figure, standing right in front of me, was about my height. His voice was younger than the previous one. In fact, it sounded like he could be around my age…_

"_None of your business." I replied harshly. Other two figures suddenly came out. All four of them were coming closer towards me, and I couldn't help feeling a bit scared. _

"_**Who are you?**__" All of them chorused._

"_BEEP! BEEP!"_ My alarm's beeping woke me up. I let out a sneeze before turning around in the opposite direction of the alarm. I grabbed my bed sheets even more tightly, trying to just ignore the beeping. Unfortunately, it _wasn't _working.

Deciding it was no use, I sat up and turned off the alarm. "What a way to ruin my morning." I grunted at it with a frown. My gaze then moved to an herbarium on the night table.

I quickly grabbed it and started looking through the object. It was already filled with some plants. In fact, I had only few pages left. That meant I might as well buy a new one. Finally, I came to the last page. Crocuses I found yesterday were completely dried! I smirked. Mission accomplished!

Yes… I had this weird obsession with collecting plants. For some reason, only that mattered to me. Other things were important too, but not as important as my hobby. I also liked collecting different kinds of rocks, or observing animals and fungus. Everything about nature fascinated me, whether it was living or unliving. In fact, I wanted to become a geologist or a biologist!

"I might as well go looking for some jasmines today…" I mused while standing up. I walked up to the mirror and started brushing my hair. No matter how many times I brushed it though, my long, red hair always looked rather messy. I _really_ had no idea how that happened, this hair literally defied every possible logic!

And yes, it was messy yet again. Dad never had such problems with his hair… No matter how short it was, it never looked so untidy! "I might as well give up." I sighed and put the hairbrush on the table. I then ran to get dressed.

Five minutes later, I came out of the bathroom, dressed in a simple blue shirt with short sleeves and pants. I grabbed my herbarium and ran downstairs.

* * *

"Good morning." My father greeted once I came into the dining room. Right now, he was sitting on a chair by the table and reading newspapers. "Good morning." I greeted back and put the herbarium on the table.

Roberto Giuseppe Accardi was my father's full name. Dad had red hair and piercing amber eyes which would usually scare anyone who angered him. He could be so scary sometimes, even though he was usually collected and calm. Having turned 46 recently, he had a lot of experience as a lawyer.

My mother, Chiara Anna Accardi, worked as a doctor. Just like Dad, she was rarely home. She had dirty blonde hair, and light blue eyes (just like me). She rarely lost it, but when she did, she could be incredibly scary too.

Both of my parents were Italian. Even though they grew up in Italy, they actually met in Japan when they were young adults. Both of them decided to pursue their careers there, finding the conditions for work better. I believe the name of the city was… Domino City? I wasn't sure.

I was born in that city, I knew that… However, I couldn't remember anything else about our life there. We moved away from the city when I was about seven, this time to Rome. I never knew why though. It just… Didn't make any sense. They never said why we had moved away. Whenever I mentioned Japan, they would speak of it with such fond memories…

We then moved away again, this time back to Japan. However, instead of Domino City, we moved to a city near it. Again, it made no sense to me…

And even though I did care about my parents, I couldn't deny they were… Quite overprotective. They would always watch my every single move, as if they were afraid something bad could happen to me at any moment. They would even question my relationships with some people I knew. I appreciated they looked after me, considering they were rarely home. However, I felt like they were exaggerating with the whole thing. I was 15 after all, I wasn't so small anymore!

"Where are you going?" Dad looked up from his newspaper, his amber eyes watching as I took the herbarium in my hands. "I'm going outside to collect some flowers." I said simply. "Then I'll go with you." He said, standing up immediately.

I shook my head with a frown. "Look, Dad, you have to go to work soon, and I'll be gone for at least a few hours." I reminded him sharply. "Then wait for Luca to go with you." He said in tone which told me not to argue with him. "But Dad, I can go outside just for a few hours! It's not like something bad will happen!" I argued back. "Out of the question." Dad shook his head and stood up. "Do not talk back!" He then added and walked out.

Letting out a groan, I sat on a nearby chair. If only I knew why Dad and Mum were always so afraid about me being completely alone… Actually, this wasn't even fear anymore. This was paranoia!

But I took out my phone and dialed my uncle. _"Hello?"_ A male voice answered. "Uncle, it's me." I replied. _"Please don't tell me he wants me to look after you again." _My uncle Luca asked in disbelief. "Yes, he does." I rolled my eyes. _"Look, I can't come, but Benjamin can accompany you. He'll be ready in fifteen minutes." _He explained. "That works for me too." I said truthfully. _"Good. He'll be at your house in half an hour." _"Grazie mille." I smiled. _"Prego, s'immagini!" _Uncle Luca responded playfully and hung up.

I hung up as well with the smile still on my face. I just loved using Italian in conversations with the rest of my family… Benjamin, or 'Ben', as he preferred to be called, was my cousin. He was the only one without an Italian name in our family, as Uncle Luca decided to break that tradition and give his son another name. Aunt Maria agreed with the decision though.

Ben was a bit younger than me. He was quite cheerful, and he loved doing all sorts of sports, with basketball being his favorite. However, his biggest obsession was my biggest hate… _Duel Monsters_.

I hated them more than anything. Seriously, I just couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with a children's card game! There was even a company making those cards and some disks for playing with them… Honestly, people had better things to do with their lives, not spend them playing with silly games!

Aunt Maria worked in the field of creating _Duel Monsters_ cards, and Ben probably learned everything about it from her. Whenever I saw him, he couldn't stop going on and on about how much he liked those cards. I had a feeling he was doing it on purpose, because he knew how much I hated it.

However, I didn't get to see him or his family often, seeing how they lived in California. They were here for a week, actually.

After thirty minutes of waiting, I could hear knocking on the door. I raced to the entrance and opened them. "Serena, long time no see." My cousin greeted with his arms spread out. "Ben." I grinned and hugged him tightly.

Even though I didn't get to see him often, I appreciated every moment with Ben. I didn't have any friends, and he wasn't exactly my friend either; he was my cousin. However, when he didn't talk about _Duel Monsters_, he was the best cousin anyone could ever ask for!

"So, how's it going?" I asked with the grin still on my face once we pulled away from the hug. "Apart from preparing for Duel Academy entrance exams, nothing special, really." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

My eyebrows furrowed. "What entrance exams? Ben, it's the middle of July!" I reminded. "I applicated for Duel Academy, so I have to prepare for entrance exams. It's at the very end of August." He explained. I let out a groan. I knew where this was going…

"And I'll guess that academy is for _Duel Monsters_, judging by the 'duel' word?" I guessed sarcastically. "Actually, yes." Ben was the one to grin this time. "What do you see in those cards?" I questioned in disbelief. "They're fun." He shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, I can finally get to learn how to become a professional duelist!" He then added excitedly. "Or, what did you call yourself, next 'King of Games'?" I guessed, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He nodded. "Wait, that title _does_ exist?" I gaped. "Yup!" He grinned. "How stupid…" I trailed off while shaking my head in disbelief. My cousin frowned. "It may be stupid for you, but not for me!" He pointed out. "I know." I sighed.

"Fine, I'll change the touchy subject. How about we go see Sartorius once you finish with collecting flowers?" Ben suggested. I frowned for a moment. "As long as you don't tell my parents we've been at his place." I said firmly.

Sartorius was this man who could see the future, so he was basically like a fortune-teller. My aunt met him and his sister Sarina in the Domino City about fifteen years ago. They've been good friends since then. I've known them ever since I was small because they would look after me whenever my parents were absent from home. Aunt actually recommended them to my mother. She agreed to do so, knowing there was no other option or else I'd be all alone.

In all honesty, sometimes, both Sartorius and Sarina felt more like parents to me than my actual ones. I spent more time with them when I was younger, and they weren't so overprotective all the time… They understood when I needed my personal space, or when I needed to be alone. I could tell them anything, they were the closest things I had to a friend.

However, my parents didn't approve of me being with them so often. I didn't know why; they just didn't like the siblings. Aunt Maria noticed that as well, but she would always tell me not to listen to them and that Sartorius and Sarina were good people. And I believed her. I could see they were good.

"Since when did I tell them that?" Ben asked as if he were offended. "You accidentally told them the last time, which earned me a ton of scolding!" I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're overreacting, it wasn't that bad!" "Says you. They waited for you to leave so they could start scolding me!"

I then lifted my hands up dramatically. "'Serena Elena Accardi, how many times have we told you not to hang out with crazy sibling frauds who are fooling you they can see the future so they could take your money!'" I imitated my father's voice and hand gestures. "Okay, okay, it won't happen again!" Ben exclaimed, finally seeing my point. "I guess we are on the same wavelength after all." I smirked and walked past him towards the exit.

* * *

I was carrying a few jasmines in my hands while Ben and I were walking towards Sartorius' place. "Is this the street?" Ben asked. I nodded while looking at the flowers. I then took out my phone, dialing a phone number.

"_Hello?" _A male voice asked. _"Do you and your sister have time for a certain girl and her cousin to come over so you could see what their future holds?" _I asked playfully. _"I could never say 'no' to you, Serena. You should know that by now." _"I do, but _you_ should know I like joking." I reminded, pretending to be a bit upset.

I heard a chuckle at the end of the line. _"Fine. I'll have finished meeting in ten minutes." _"Deal." I grinned and hung up.

"What did he say?" Ben asked me curiously. "He said he'll finish the meeting in ten minutes." I explained. "Then we'd better wait inside." He suggested. I simply nodded in agreement before we made our way to the entrance of the house.

After he closed the gate, I opened the door. The house wasn't exactly big, but it wasn't so small either. Sarina and Sartorius usually spent their time at the ground level, while their house was on the upper floor.

We sat down in the waiting room, seeing ten minutes haven't passed yet. "So… Duel Academy, huh?" I asked a bit nervously while playing with strands of my hair. "I will hopefully end up there if I pass my exams." Ben reminded. "I still don't understand why you should have an exam about playing silly card games." I let out a groan.

"Those are _not_ silly card games. _Duel Monsters_ are more than just a game." Ben's green eyes suddenly landed on me. I could tell he was a bit offended. However, before I could respond to that determined statement, the door opened.

A guy came out of the room. My eyebrows furrowed in surprise since it looked like he was our age. He had this long, grey hair, and blue eyes, and was dressed in silver formal wear. The guy had an incredibly calm look on his face. He looked at Ben and me as he passed next to us, his blue eyes scanning us from head to toe before he made his way towards the exit.

I began playing with my hair strands again in confusion. That was one weird guy… "I… I can't believe it!" Ben suddenly cried in what seemed to be excitement. "What?" I turned over to look at my cousin, still not understanding a single thing. "Serena, please don't tell me you don't know who that was." He looked at me seriously. "No, I don't know who he was." I shook my head.

Ben fell to the floor in utter disbelief. However, he then quickly stood up, his eyes not leaving me at all. "Are you really _that uninformed _about everything?!" He demanded a bit angrily. "If that 'everything' is things that I'm not interested in, then _yes_." I glared.

"That was _the_ Aster Phoenix!" I rolled my eyes at those words. "I still don't know who that is, but his name does sound kind of wicked with the 'Phoenix' surname." I chuckled in amusement. Ben looked like he wanted to try to strangle me at any moment, when…

"There you are." A familiar voice said, making me look towards the source of the of the voice. A man was standing at the entrance of the room. He was dressed in a dark blue suit. One part of his long hair was blue, while the upper, shorter part was grey. The man wore earrings. His purple eyes were watching both Ben and me.

I stood up from the bench with a grin. However, before I could say anything, Ben decided to jump in. "Sartorius! Was that guy over there Aster Phoenix or my eyes are fooling me?!" He asked enthusiastically. "No, your eyes are fooling you." I commented sarcastically, making him glare at me. He was literally preparing to jump on me, only for Sartorius to pull him away.

"Yes, it was Aster Phoenix." He said simply. Ben looked at him in amazement. "_How _do you know him?" He demanded, his mouth wide open. "Come in, and I'll explain everything." The man promised. I followed them inside a huge room. Light was coming from candles on walls, and green curtains were over every door in the room.

Ben sat in a nearby chair. I sat next to him. "Sarina's not back yet?" I asked, seeing she wasn't here. "No. She should be back in an hour." Sartorius shook his head, sitting by the table, right across us. "How are you doing?" He then asked.

"I'm preparing for Duel Academy entrance exams, so I'm feeling quite well." Ben smiled. "You decided to go there after all?" Sartorius asked. My cousin nodded. The man's eyes then landed on me. "What about you?" "I've been better." I sighed while folding my arms.

He looked at me in confusion. "Her parents didn't allow her to go out of the house without someone accompanying her." Ben quickly explained. "Again?" Sartorius looked from my cousin back to me. "I just wish they could stop treating me like a child." I frowned. "You _are_ a child." He reminded. "Yes, but I'm not a five-year-old one, if you know what I mean!" I retorted in a bit of annoyance.

It was silent for a few moments. "Maybe your parents would feel more relaxed if you had friends." Sartorius suggested. "So I can go off playing _Duel Monsters_ with them? No chance!" I shook my head. "Besides, I don't need them."

He shook his head with a sigh. "Serena, you can't just count on Ben, Sarina or me to be there for you all the time. One day, we won't be able to help you. Something could happen to either you, or me. You need more people around you. A person can't function properly if he's always by himself." "You're sounding as if something bad could happen. You haven't even started looking through your cards." I pointed out a bit annoyed.

"I'm saying there's always a possibility. And I'm telling you this for your own good." I sighed with a frown. However, my phone then started ringing. "Shoot, I forgot to turn it off." I growled. "Answer it, it's your dad!" Ben urged me to answer the call.

I glared at him but did as I was told. "Hello?" I asked, not bothering to hide how annoyed I was. _"Serena, I want you and Ben to come home immediately." _"Dad, can't it wait for at least an hour?" I questioned. _"No, it can't. I'm going to work soon, and I need you to be home." _He replied firmly. "Fine." I groaned and hung up.

"Dad wants you and me to be home right away." I told Ben who groaned as well. "So much for hearing about Aster Phoenix…" "You'll hear about him the next time we're here." I reminded, standing up from the chair. "Promise?" Ben asked the man who simply nodded. "I'm really sorry, I didn't expect from Dad to call me." I apologized. "No. Go see your father, it's important." Sartorius urged.

I let out a sigh but quickly hugged the man I looked up to so much. We then ran out of the house.

* * *

"What could be so important?" I rolled my eyes in annoyance once we were in front of my house. "Beats me." Ben shrugged his shoulders. We walked into the living room.

Mum, Dad, and Uncle were inside, talking to each other about something. However, they stopped as soon as they saw us. "Good, you're here." Mum said. "What was so important we had to come here immediately?" I asked. "Actually, that's what we wanted to talk about." Dad said seriously, his arms folded.

I still had no idea what was going on… They sounded so serious… "Your father and I were talking about it until we finally agreed." Mum started. "But we decided it would be good for you, and your uncle agreed with us." Dad continued. It was so tense in the room at that moment… "Which is why we're sending you to Duel Academy."

Everything around me stopped. I couldn't even process those words properly. I couldn't believe I heard them coming out of my parents' mouth. I couldn't believe they actually agreed to this. And I still couldn't believe it was true! Ben and I exchanged looks of shock.

"WHAT?!" I finally screamed.

**That's the prologue. Should I continue this? I'd love to hear what you think! Until next time!**


	2. The Deck

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! Hopefully her deck will be a surprise…. ;)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! I'll be honest, I had those ideas in my head when I was younger, but then I realized it would kind of be like many other stories on this site, so I decided to avoid them. :)**

**Thank you to those who favorited and followed this story, it means a lot because it gives me more motivation to continue with this idea!**

**Also, a note; my story will not strictly follow 4Kids' version of the show. I'm borrowing some elements from both the original Japanese version (you'll see some of them in this chapter) and the English dub. The names, as already seen, are the ones from the 4Kids' version.**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**I only own my OC's!**

"WHAT?!" I let out a scream in astonishment. Suddenly, Ben started laughing. "Okay, I can see where Serena gets her sense of humor from. This is hilarious!" He burst in uncontrollable laughter by now. At that moment, I wished I could laugh along with him. I wished I thought this was just a bad joke.

However, I knew better. The serious look in Mum's eyes and on Dad's face told me everything I needed to know. Nonetheless, like many of my parents' previous decisions, this one made _no sense_. Firstly, they knew how much I hated the whole concept of _Duel Monsters_. Secondly, they knew I would _never_ want this. Thirdly, they would barely let me go alone out of their sight, so why would they send me far away from them?! And fourthly, _they_ were the ones who had forbidden me to even play with _Duel Monsters _when I was little (not that I liked them or anything)!

"Benjamin, it's not a joke." Uncle Luca spoke up seriously, a frown on his face. My cousin stopped laughing at hearing his father's words. "Wait, you're SERIOUS?!" He shouted, his eyes widening even more with every word he uttered.

By now, my efforts to calm down were utterly useless. In fact, Ben's disbelief just made me even more panicked. I didn't want to go to that stupid academy, and I didn't want to have anything to do with those stupid cards! Did the world really hate me that much for even hating _Duel Monsters_ in the first place?!

"SHE DOESN'T/I DON'T EVEN LIKE _DUEL MONSTERS_!" Ben and I exclaimed in unison with our jaws dropping to the floor. "We're aware." Dad spoke up calmly with hands in pockets of his suit. "Then what's the point of the whole thing?" I glared.

However, I didn't care. All of the panic I had felt before was slowly turning into anger. It seemed that no matter how old I was, my parents still wanted to control everything in my life, even my future! They knew I didn't want to be a duelist. They knew I loved nature more than anything. Why were they forcing me into something I didn't want?! Parents were supposed to be supportive! Yet my own ones were total opposites of good parents in every way possible…

"The point is going there will be good for you." Mum elaborated firmly. "You mean, good for _you_?" I corrected her angrily. "No, for _you_." Dad walked up to me. "Doing something I don't like is _good_ for me?" I growled.

He, Mum and Uncle exchanged glances. His brother then gave him what seemed to be a nod. His amber eyes then landed on me, looking straight into my light blue ones. "As soon as you graduate from the Duel Academy, you'll be allowed to do whatever you want. Until then, you're going there and that's it." He spoke in tone which said 'no arguing'.

"What if I don't want to go? What if I get expelled?" I demanded, my fury rising with every second. "We'll transfer you to another academy. We'll find another school if we have to." Dad shot back. "You're not getting out of this one, Serena." Mum added with that serious look on her face.

My hands slowly started curling into fists while I tried to prevent brimming tears from streaming down my cheeks. This wasn't fair…

Ben looked at me with a frown. His gaze then turned back to my parents. "Uncle… With all due respect, but why are you forcing Serena into something she clearly doesn't want? Weren't you and Aunt Chiara the ones who forbade her to play with those cards when she was little?" He questioned a bit irritated.

"It's for her own good." Mum repeated blankly. "But how…" "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD ABOUT THIS SUBJECT FROM EITHER OF YOU! IS THAT CLEAR?!" Dad finally roared at both Ben and me, making us flinch.

I looked up right into my father's angry eyes. Words couldn't describe how angry I was at both him and Mum… Seeing how I had no chance of winning in this argument, I turned on my heel and ran out of the room.

* * *

As soon as I was in my room, I grabbed my herbarium and threw myself at the bed. I opened the herbarium and started looking through it. Yet that didn't help me calm down at all. All I knew was that my parents were basically sending me somewhere against my own will…

The door opened. I looked up to see Ben walking in. He sat on the bed next to me. "How are you feeling?" He asked me with a sympathetic smile. "Awful." I frowned. "Duel Academy has only three years, you know." He tried to look on the bright side. "Which means I'll lose only _three_ years of my life, huh?" I raised an eyebrow at my cousin, daring him to respond to that accusation.

"If you keep looking at the academy like prison, then it will be." Ben sighed. "What are you implying?" I gave him a questioning look. "I really don't know why your parents are hell-bent on sending you there. However, it will be easier for you if you try to find the bright side in all of this." He explained. "Bright side?" I looked at him in disbelief.

He nodded before smiling. "Just think of people you'll be able to meet there. You'll probably be able to explore the Academy's flora and fauna even better." I frowned for a moment. I hadn't thought of it in such way before… He _did _kind of have a point…

"Where exactly is the Duel Academy?" I asked slowly, looking in his direction. "From what I heard; it's located on an island in the Southern Japan." He looked up at me. "However, Dad just told me you're not going there."

By now, I didn't understand a single thing. "Whoa, wait, wait," I stopped him. "How am I not going there if my parents had just said they're sending me to the Duel Academy?" I asked perplexed. Ben looked at me in realization before he started laughing. "Sorry, I completely forgot you don't know much about the academy."

He then straightened up. "Duel Academy is the main one, it has four subsidiaries. One is called North Academy, and it's located somewhere in the arctic. The South Academy is in between Australia and New Zealand." He stopped for a moment. Wait, there were _five _of those hell prisons?! I gaped at him.

"The East Academy is somewhere near America, while the West Academy is in Europe, in between Sicily and Sardinia." "Wait, the West Academy is practically in Italy?!" I asked to make sure. "Yes." My cousin nodded. "In fact, your parents are sending you there." He then added.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Wouldn't it be more logical to send me to the main one instead?" I guessed. Ben shrugged his shoulders. "It _would be_, but they said something about moving back to Italy while you're at the academy." I let out a groan at those words. "Such paranoia…" I commented. "It _is_ weird. Not even Dad wants to talk about this." He looked at me uncertainly.

However, Uncle Luca then started calling Ben to come down. "I've got to go; Mum is waiting for us home at lunch." He said, getting off the bed. I sighed. Just as I was beginning to feel a bit better by talking to Ben about this…

"You know, you can talk to you know who about this." He whispered to me with a reassuring smile, as if he knew what I was thinking at the moment. I simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.

As soon as Ben was out of the room, I sighed and put jasmines on another page of my herbarium. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. I couldn't get the idea of going to a dueling school out of my head. Just _how _was this supposed to be _good _for me?! I didn't understand a thing, and it annoyed me so much!

However, I took out my phone and dialed the phone number for the second time today. It was ringing for a few seconds. _"Yes?" _"Hey." I greeted quietly. _"Did something happen?" _Sartorius asked over the phone, concern in his voice present. "Mind if I come over again? I need a talk with someone rational." I asked a bit bitterly.

"_Of course. Sarina is here as well." _"See you." I hung up and walked out of the room. While I was walking downstairs, I could see Mum and Dad talking to each other.

However, they looked at me the moment I came down. "Where are you going?" Dad questioned. "I want to talk to my friend." I said coldly. "Well, seeing none of us are able to accompany you, you're not going anywhere." Mum declared firmly. "Why?" I demanded icily. "We have work, that's why." She retorted. I let out a groan, but knew it was better not to argue with them after this. I would find another way out of the house.

"Your aunt is coming here at five o'clock. She'll help you in choosing your deck." Dad added. I let out a laugh in disbelief. "_Choosing_ my deck? I can just pick some random cards!" I pointed out in amusement with a smirk. Mum shook her head. "It doesn't work like that."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Since when are you so well-informed about _Duel Monsters_, Mum?" I questioned. "My sister-in-law happens to design those cards." She reminded. "Chiara, we're late!" Dad suddenly exclaimed, pointing at his watch. Her eyes widened as well. "Then we need to run!" She agreed. "We're locking the door." Dad added, showing the key in his hands. They literally slammed the door behind them.

Letting out a groan, I threw myself at the couch. Whenever no one was able to accompany for whatever reason those two thought it was necessary, they would leave me locked in the house… However, I was used to it by now. I had another way of escaping out of here, and coming back without them noticing.

I raced to my room and opened the window. There was a huge tree branch just outside it, and it was able to hold my weight. I slowly climbed down the tree, but not before making sure to leave the window open.

As soon as I jumped off the tree, I ran down the street.

* * *

I knocked on the door of the house. After a few moments, someone opened them. A woman was looking at me from the entrance. She was dressed in red and white ceremonial clothes with sandals. Her long, dark hair was in a ponytail, and she had bangs.

"Serena!" The woman greeted, a huge smile appearing on her face. "Hi Sarina." I smiled back before jumping into a hug. "Sartorius said you had been here, but I wasn't able to make it in time." She said once we pulled away from the hug. "You didn't miss much." I said reassuringly. "Ben was here too, but then he freaked out once he saw the 'Austin Phoenix' guy."

The woman let out a laugh. "It's _Aster_, dear." She corrected me. "Whatever, you know I'm not good with remembering names of people I don't know." I reminded. "Wait, you know him too?" I then asked curiously.

She shook her head. "Not personally. In fact, I never met him, because he usually comes when I'm not here. However, Sartorius told me a lot about him." She explained. "Oh." I said simply in realization. Sarina then let me in.

"Some tea?" She suggested. "What flavors do you have?" I looked at her curiously. "For now, only Sencha and Kukicha." "Sencha, please." I smiled. "Sarina, could you make some Sencha tea for me too?" Sartorius' voice could be heard from the room in front of us.

The woman rolled her eyes for a moment. "How about 'please', brother dearest?" She asked, pretending to be offended. "_Please_, Sarina." He added from the room after what seemed to be a sigh. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sarina let out a chuckle before looking at me. "Go ahead, I'll join you two once I make some tea." I nodded before she walked upstairs.

I walked into the room. "I guess things aren't looking good for you either?" I guessed with a raised eyebrow once I sat in a chair across Sartorius. He looked up at me with a frown, away from his cards. "What makes you think so?" "The sigh you let out after Sarina made that 'please' joke." I elaborated with my arms folded.

"What's bothering you anyway?" I then asked while looking at the cards on the table. "What the cards are telling me." The man said simply, taking one and observing it. "What do they say?" I tried to look at the card in his hand to no avail.

He then showed it to me. I frowned. It seemed to be some sort of black light going in different directions… "Future isn't looking well for me." He explained while pointing at it. "What made you come to that conclusion?" I asked a bit alarmed. "The light in the picture shows uncertainty. Instead of being white, it's black. It going in different directions shows it can happen in any way possible."

I looked up at him in surprise. "You're sure?" I asked, receiving a nod. "It's at times like this I wish your predictions were wrong." I let out a sigh. Sartorius looked up, frowning at me. "It's at times like this I wish I never had this ability." He said grimly. Wait… Did I just hear that?!

My eyes widened. "But why? Getting to know more about future is great!" I pointed out in confusion. "Maybe from what you see. However, for me, this ability is sometimes more of a curse than blessing." The man said. I could hear bitterness in his voice. It surprised me a bit, to be honest. For the time I knew Sartorius, he never said anything bad about his ability to predict the future… However, I never got to hear his general opinion about it, now that I thought of it better. Nonetheless, it was still surprising to me.

"But why?" I asked simply. It looked like he was contemplating whether he should tell me something or not. However, his mouth then formed into a thin, straight line. Maybe I went too far with asking… "Sorry for prying…" I started, only to be cut off. "No, it's alright. Now, if you excuse me…" Sartorius suddenly stood up, walking out of the room.

I watched his disappearing figure in confusion. He never walked out like that… Yet, at the same time, I couldn't help feeling bad. Why did I even bring up that subject in the first place?! I didn't mean to upset him!

"Serena, you're an idiot." I growled to myself. "Don't get so upset over my brother's reaction," Sarina's voice made me look up. She was carrying a tray with three cups of tea. As soon as she put the tray on the table, she offered one cup to me. "He always took it harder than me." She added as I took it in my hands.

I frowned. "What are you talking about?" I raised an eyebrow. The woman sighed and sat into the chair previously occupied by her brother. "Ever since we've been young, Sartorius and I have been harassed by people because of our abilities to see the future. They always shunned us. They were disgusted, and they even made fun of us as we went into adolescence." She started explaining.

My eyes widened in shock. Was that true?! "Really?!" I demanded. Sarina simply nodded. "Eventually, all of the harassment had become so overbearing that we had to leave home. We always had to stick together, which is why we've become so close."

She looked away for a moment. "I've learned not to care about other people," She looked back at me. "However, Sartorius still harbors distrust and resentment towards them in general." "He had never showed it before." I muttered. Honestly, that kind of behavior disgusted me. They were making fun of people just because they were different from the others...

Sarina smiled before getting off her chair and walking up to me. "It's because he doesn't feel that way about you. It's the same case with Aster, Ben, and your aunt and uncle." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"However, seeing into the future isn't always fun." The woman then added. "In which cases?" I looked up at her. "If you predict how long someone's life will last, for example." She frowned. "You have a point there…" I admitted after a few moments of silence. I just couldn't imagine knowing how long I would live, because it felt awful… "So that's why Sartorius is feeling uneasy at the moment? Because of future not looking well for him in that way?" I presumed.

Sarina shook her head. "No, what he predicted was unspecific. What he knows is something bad will happen. However, he doesn't know what, when, or how." She explained gently. "Then that's even worse." I pointed out with a frown. "It doesn't have to mean that."

She then smiled. "Now, why did you want to talk to 'someone rational' as my brother had put it?" I let out a sigh while playing with strands of my red hair. "My parents' goal is to make next three years of my life a living hell, that's why." I said, my voice dripping with more sarcasm with every next word I uttered.

"Why's that?" The woman asked perplexed. That was when Sartorius walked back into the room, pulling a nearby chair to sit by the table where we were. "That's what I'd want to know as well." He agreed with his sister, acting as if nothing had happened before.

I rolled my eyes. "My parents are sending me to a duel academy in Italy, that's why." I grumbled. Both Sarina and Sartorius looked at each other, their eyes widening. They then looked back at me. "That's… So sudden." The former finally said. "They're serious?" The latter questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Unfortunately, they are." I sighed with hands on my chin. "Why did they decide to do that?" Sarina asked a bit cautiously. I kind of expected surprised reactions from them, but I never expected them to be _this_ shocked… If anything, it was a bit weird.

However, I paid no attention to that. "They said how it would be good for me." I explained sulkily. "Even though I don't understand how doing something you obviously hate is good for you…." I then trailed off unimpressed while playing with my red strands.

"They must have some sort of reason." Sartorius quickly said. "And even though it may seem a bit odd, everything they do is because they care about you." Sarina added. I looked up at them in disbelief. "Wait, so you're defending them?!" I asked a bit offended.

"We're not defending anyone." The woman quickly responded. "We just think they must have a good reason for their decision." Her brother agreed after a few moments of silence. "They're your parents after all." He then added. "_Overprotective_ parents." I corrected him in a bit of annoyance.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Maybe they are, but still, there's nothing you can do if their decision is final!" He quickly pointed out. "What exactly did they say?" Sarina added. "They said that once I graduate from the academy, I'm allowed to do whatever I want." I explained, this time folding my arms and straightening up.

"Then you just need to wait. Three years can pass in a blink of an eye." She told me reassuringly. "Ben told me to look at the positive things about this…." I trailed off. "And your cousin's right. If you keep looking only at bad side of this, then it will be even harder." Sartorius looked at me.

"I won't get to see you two or Ben so often anymore. I'll literally be on another continent." I sighed. "We can always stay in touch thanks to phones, remember?" He reminded. "Ben's going to Duel Academy as well, so you wouldn't get to see him at all." Sarina added.

I stayed quiet. "Serena, you're worrying too much." She then said. "Everything will be completely fine if you start looking at it from another side. You have to be brave, and you have to be ready for new things." Sartorius added.

Letting out a sigh, I hugged both of the siblings.

* * *

By the time I climbed back into my room, it was five o'clock. Just as I closed the window, I could hear someone opening the door. "Serena!" My aunt's voice could be heard throughout the house. "Aunt Maria, I'm here!" I shouted and ran downstairs.

I found her in the living room. Unlike Ben and Uncle Luca, Aunt Maria had light brown eyes and dark brown hair. Ben was a spiting image of his father in almost every way possible; apart from his nose. He had it just like Aunt. Right now, she was dressed in a long, dark blue dress with short sleeves.

"I haven't seen you for three months!" I grinned and hugged her. "Far too long, dear." Aunt Maria agreed, hugging me back. "So, you're here to help me choose the so-called deck?" I asked once we pulled away from the hug.

She frowned. "I was thinking of that as well," She started while looking through her bag. After about a minute, she took something with her right hand. "However, then I remembered something." I raised an eyebrow at cards she was holding. I couldn't count how many of them were there… But again, I didn't even know how much a normal deck was supposed to have, so that was kind of my problem.

"What's that?" I asked curiously. Aunt Maria led me to the couch before we sat down. "I have a few decks at home, so at first I wanted to give you one until you made your own." She said while shuffling the cards. "But then I realized I had something else." She offered me the cards.

I slowly took them, my eyebrows furrowing. Looking at one card, my eyes widened in slight surprise. There was a picture on the card. A fungus seemed to be in the picture, except that it had eyes. I quickly looked at another card. A flycatcher plant was on it. Once I looked through other cards, one thing was clear. All of them were connected to nature in some sort of way, from the smallest fungus to the largest animal in the world!

"Where did you get this deck?" I asked Aunt Maria in astonishment. "Maximillion Pegasus gave it to me about three years ago after winning them in a tournament. However, I dueled only so I could improve my abilities, so initially I refused to accept the deck. However, he insisted that I accept it, so I could at least give it to someone else."

She then smiled. "So, when your parents told me you were going to West Duel Academy, and I started looking for some old decks, I remembered this one. I've never used it, but it's as if it was literally made for you. You love nature after all." She was right… It was as if it was made for me, because I loved nature more than anything… However, I still wasn't keen on the dueling idea. I was simply admiring the cards.

"There's only one version of this deck, and it's not complete." Aunt added, making me look up. "The other part is with cards concerning unliving nature. When together, those two form the Deck of Nature." I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "However," She then frowned. "I think this half is enough for your first year. Once you prove to me you've become a better duelist, and that you're worthy of this deck, I'll give you the other half."

I sighed. "Aunt Maria, I don't even _know_ how to duel!" I reminded with a frown. "Ben will teach you all of the rules." She said cheerfully. "It's a part of your exam after all." She added. I didn't say anything.

Instead, I kept looking at the cards. It was as if they were staring right into my soul. And I knew that I got myself into something scary and unknown. I didn't know a thing about dueling, which was frightening. However, I was going to listen to Sartorius' and Sarina's advice.

I was going to go out there with my head high, and I wasn't going to be afraid. The Academy lasted for only three years. That was going to pass quick, right?

**Well, that's chapter two! Thoughts? I hope you liked it! Until next time!**


	3. Getting The Basics Straight

**Legion stone: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you like it! :) Hopefully it will also be a surprise... As for Serena... _If_ she does learn how to love dueling, it may take quite a while! ;)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you like it! :) I'm also glad you think those two were in character and that it's believable, because other opinions help me a lot! ;)**

**I only own my OC's!**

_It was deadly quiet. Not a thing could be heard or seen. Rubbing my eyes, I wanted to make sure whether this was some sort of a dream or reality. I even pinched myself by my arm. However, it didn't seem to work at all. Yet again, I was surrounded by thick mist._

"_I really don't get the whole thing with the mist." I commented in annoyance while looking around. If I had to look on the bright side, then I could conclude that at least I was all alone this time. There were no mysterious figures, and there were definitely no voic…._

_Suddenly, I could hear some sort of laughter from the distance. From what I could hear, it was coming from…. Children. They sounded so happy…._

"_I'm gonna win this time!" A young boy's voice declared in determination. "That's what you said the last time!" A young girl started laughing. "Well, I'm saying it again!" The boy retorted. "If I'm going to lose to a girl, then let it be with honor and a good duel!" He shouted dramatically. "You said you wanted to be the 'King of Games'? At this point, you sound more like the 'King of __**Drama**__'." The girl pointed out tauntingly. However, she and the boy then started laughing once again…._

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in the bed. I then opened them and looked around the room. Sun rays were coming through the opened window on my right. It was still July, so it was a pretty hot morning already. I let out a sigh while running a hand through my long and messy red hair. It was even messier now considering I hadn't brushed it yet…

Oh, how I wanted to just go back to bed and sleep more…. However, as much as I wanted to, it just wasn't possible.

Ben was coming over today. He wanted to explain the basics of _Duel Monsters _to me. Yes, _oh, la gioia_. I would spend the whole day playing with stupid children's cards!

Letting out a groan, I stood up from the bed and began stretching out my arms. After five minutes, I ran into the bathroom to start getting ready. Taking the hairbrush in my hands, I looked up at the mirror. A reflection of a girl with messy red hair, light blue eyes and freckles over her cheeks was staring right back at me.

I quickly started brushing my hair. At the same time, I couldn't help thinking of how fast this was going to pass. It was the end of July, and the entrance exam for West Duel Academy was in Italy at the end of August… That meant my parents and I would have to move away during the middle of the next month. I wasn't looking forward to it.

Now, I had absolutely nothing against country where my roots were from. Italy was a beautiful country. However, moving away from Japan was what bugged me. I was so used to everything here; I wasn't even sure whether I'd Italian people! From what I heard; they ate pasta literally _every day_…. As much as I loved pasta, that was a bit too much.

Even though I was more used to sushi and fried shrimp, my parents (when they were home) usually cooked Italian food so they could teach me more about my roots, but also take a break from Japanese cuisine from time to time. They liked it, but, like I had said it in my case, sometimes, it could be a bit too much. And when they weren't there, Aunt Maria would come and cook Italian food as well. In fact, she was the best cook ever!

After brushing my hair, I quickly dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt and dark blue pants. As soon as I put sandals on my shoes, I was ready to get out of the room. However, cards fell out of a pocket of my jeans. "Shoot." I growled in disbelief and quickly got on my knees to pick them up. Normally, I wouldn't care so much about those stupid cards, but this was Aunt's deck, and I was forced to go to that stupid academy, so you surely got the picture…

Now that I thought of it better, Aunt did see me dropping the cards a few times since she gave them to me. That was why she suggested getting a box where I could keep my deck. It was apparently called Deck Box… However, I didn't bother with buying it until now because I had better things to do, such as collecting flowers.

It was obvious I had to go buy it today though. I didn't want to lose the cards(only because Aunt gave them to me), and if I kept dropping them, that would most likely happen. Therefore, I would go to buy that box now.

If my assumptions were correct, Mum and Dad wouldn't be home until 10 PM. That meant I could get out through the window.

I quickly ran downstairs to see whether my parents were in the dining room. However, there was no sign of them. In fact, no one was in the house. I couldn't help smirking. This was just perfect!

Then, I decided to go back to my room. But not before I grabbed a croissant off the table in the kitchen and put it in a nearby bag. If I weren't in such hurry, I would take more. That was actually a bad habit of mine. I loved food so much, that sometimes one portion just wouldn't be enough. Ben once told me that I had more than one stomach. Aunt even told me that I would scare all guys away with that habit. I guess they were right, but what could I really do? I loved eating!

Once I climbed through the window and got off the tree, I took the croissant out of the bag and started eating it along the way. Who actually cared whether I scared all the guys away? I certainly wasn't interested in any of them! Besides, my eating habit would prevent them from trying any funny business. Not that I hoped that would happen, nor did I want it… But you know… It was good to always be on guard.

* * *

It wasn't that hard for me to find a shop selling everything related to _Duel Monsters_. There was one not too far away from my house, maybe about 20 minutes away. There would always be a huge crowd and a lot of screaming during school year; that's how I knew about that shop in the first place. It was also Ben's favorite place in this city.

Fortunately for me (never thought I'd actually say this), there wasn't a lot of people in the shop during summer holidays. Everyone was either outside playing stupid cards, or they were out of the city. It's during this time the city was the most peaceful. Just the way I liked it…

By the time I was in front of the shop, I could see there was no one outside. Thankfully. I could buy that Deck Box, and get out of there the fastest I could.

I walked into the shop, closing the door behind me. There weren't many people inside. From what I could see, there were three if we didn't count the shop owner. One of them was a man dressed in a business suit. He had balding black hair and green eyes.

The second one was a woman, who looked like she was in her twenties. Her long, auburn hair was tied in a ponytail while her brown eyes were looking all over the shop.

The third one was a guy who was talking to the shop owner. His back was turned, so I couldn't see him well. The only thing I could see was his hair and clothing. It looked rather messy (although I shouldn't be the one saying that, my hair was even messier). However, what attracted my attention was its unusual hair color. The lower, most part was mostly dark brown, but the upper part of it was light brown. He was dressed in what seemed to be school uniform.

After a few more seconds, I looked away from the guy with weird hair. I didn't come here to observe other people, I had to buy that box! So, I started looking around the place. It definitely wasn't as small as I thought it would be… I was serious, the exterior looked way smaller!

However, shelves were filled with either decks or cards. I didn't even understand why cards were separated from decks, but whatever. The less I knew about them, the better.

I _was_ obliged to go to that academy. However, no one said I actually had to _know_ everything! I would just graduate, dueling the least I could, and getting passable grades. It was actually sort of a revenge for my parents even putting me there in the first place. I smirked at that thought. Take that, Mum and Dad!

"Miss, do you need help?" A voice brought me back to reality. "What?" I let out a yelp and quickly turned around. The shop owner and the weird-haired guy were looking at me. "Do you need help?" The owner repeated. "Oh." I said simply. "Well, yes. I was wondering whether you had boxes for keeping decks?" I started playing with my red strands.

The man's eyebrows furrowed. "You mean, the Deck Boxes?" He presumed. "Yes, that, whatever they're called!" I quickly said and nodded. He took one rectangular, black box off a shelf behind him. "Those are the best we have." He motioned for me to come closer so I could see it. "Then I'll take it." I said immediately.

"Do you want me to pack it for you?" The owner offered. "No, thank you. I'll put the cards in now so I don't drop them again." I explained. The man sweat dropped. "Sheesh." A male voice from behind me said. However, I ignored both of them.

I took both the money and the cards from pockets of my jeans. The man opened the box and I quickly put the deck inside, closing it. "My recommendation is having it strapped near the waistline. You can never lose them there." He told me with a smile. I simply nodded and gave him the money.

However, as soon as I turned around towards the exit, my head hit into someone else's… And I soon found myself lying on the ground. My back hurt a bit. "Cazzo…" I cursed in Italian with a growl while rubbing my head where it hurt the most.

Looking up, I could see the weird-haired guy on the floor as well. He was also rubbing his head. "Are you alright?" The owner ran up to me and offered me a hand. I took it. He then gave me the box I had dropped while falling. "Thank you." I told him before he offered a hand to the guy as well.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?!" I walked up to him and growled. "I was right behind you, and then you…." The weird-haired guy stammered in confusion while rubbing the back of his head. I looked at him furiously. We were about the same height, so giving him a piece of my mind was even _easier_. "Then next time _don't_ be behind me!" I screeched. I hated people who didn't watch where they were going, I really did!

I then marched out of the shop before the stupid guy or the owner could say anything else.

* * *

I slammed the window shut once I jumped into my room. I was still annoyed by what happened at that shop… What an idiot of a guy… I mean, _seriously_, how blind would you have to be not to notice a person _right behind you_?!

Letting out a deep breath, I tried to calm down. There was no point getting angry with people I wouldn't see again… I decided to just drop it. The idiot could go bumping into other people, _far away_ from me.

"Serena!" A voice shouted from downstairs. My eyes widened in surprise. It was Aunt Maria! She came earlier today, that was for sure… "Serena!" Another voice shouted as well. It was Ben?! Then that meant he came to show me dueling basics… I let out a groan in annoyance.

But I ran downstairs anyway, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop this from happening. Ben and Aunt Maria were in the living room by now. I hugged her first, and then my cousin. "You came earlier today?" I then asked my aunt in confusion. "Your mother asked me to, that's why." She explained with a small smile.

And there it was again, Mum being all overprotective… I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet. "How about I show you how to duel?" Ben then suggested cheerfully. He was looking forward to it, I could see it clearly…. "It's not like I have a choice, do I?" I put on a forced smile. "No, of course you don't!" Aunt Maria and Ben chorused with smirks. "But blame it on your parents, not us. We're just enjoying the show." The former added. I looked at her unimpressed, but sat on a couch, right across Ben.

"Did you get the Deck Box?" He asked me. "I did." I said simply with an eyeroll. "What's the matter?" My cousin asked. He obviously saw I was still a bit angry because of what had happened at the shop. "Some idiot bumped into me inside." I frowned.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What idiot?" He questioned. "Well, there's obviously one word for the term 'idiot'…" I started in a bit of annoyance, only to be cut off. "No, no, no. What I meant was, what did the so-called 'idiot' look like?"

I folded my arms with a sigh. "He was about my height, and he had this weird, messy hair which was both dark brown and light brown." I finally explained. Ben frowned. But then, his eyes widened in what seemed to be realization. "I think I know that guy. He's…" I cut him off. "Please, don't tell me who he is. Just next time, do tell him he's an idiot." I said pleadingly.

He closed his mouth and gave me a disapproving look. "He can be a bit… Inattentive, but he's not such a bad guy." "I don't care." I huffed. "If you say so." My cousin rolled his eyes. "Now, take out your deck."

I did what I was told, taking the Deck Box. I then took the cards out of it. "Give them to me." I did so. Ben took them in his hands, looking through all of them for a minute in silence. Finally, he nodded. He took 4 of the cards, then gave the rest of the deck back to me.

"Before you start with dueling, you need to know the basics." He started seriously before putting the cards in front of me. "Do you know at least a thing about dueling?" "It's a stupid card game that children and for some reason adults play." I replied immediately.

My cousin gave me another look of disapproval. "That kind of thinking won't get you anywhere. Didn't we say that looking at positive side of things helps?" He reminded curtly. "Except that the positive side I see is anything that isn't related to the cards, like nature for example." I fired back. He let out a sigh.

"Just look at those cards, please?" I huffed but looked down at them. The first one was the fungus card I had seen earlier. He took it in one of his hands. "In _Duel Monsters_, your primary goal is to take out your opponent's Life Points before he does that to you. You use various cards to accomplish that goal." He started explaining.

I did appreciate he wanted to explain it, but the game still sounded so stupid… "This is the Monster Card." Ben then pointed at the fungus card. "You see those small, three stars?" He asked. I nodded. "That's the level of your monster."

He then pointed at a brown circle with some Japanese writing above the small circled stars. "This is the element of your monster. In this case, it's Earth." I nodded once again. "And those numbers in the lower, right corner…."

"_Those numbers actually show how much Attack and Defense points your monster has!" A young, male voice was echoing in my head._

"Serena, are you listening to me?" Ben's voice broke my train of thoughts. I quickly shook my head before looking at my cousin. He seemed to be a bit annoyed that I apparently zoned out. "Yes, yes! Those numbers show how much my monster has Attack and Defense points!" I quickly said.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Alright…." He trailed off but then frowned. "Each Monster has Special Effect you can use in the duel. In your case, this fungus is able to absorb points from your opponent's monster, and either use them or turn them into Life Points for you." "Really?" I looked up at him surprise. He nodded. That sounded… Kind of cool.

He lifted another card. It showed plants standing straight even though they were sprayed by a bottle in someone's hand. "This is a Trap Card." Ben stated. "And it…"

"_The Trap Cards can be used anytime during your opponent's turn. However, you may have to wait for a certain effect to activate. Those cards help you out a lot, especially if the opponent attacks you." The voice explained excitedly._

Someone was shaking me by my shoulders. "Serena, you're not listening!" Ben looked at me angrily. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "But I was!" I lied. "The Trap Cards are used anytime during the opponent's turn!" I then added.

Ben was looking at me incredulously. "Which drugs are you on?" He demanded. "Ben." I glared at him. That was so rude of him to say! "I mean it! I didn't even start explaining what the Trap Card was when you zoned out, but now you just told me you know what it is!" He was obviously losing it.

However, he then took a deep breath. "Are you sure you've never played _Duel Monsters_?" He demanded. I shook my head. "Never, I don't even know what it's about!" I answered honestly.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what exactly happened… Except that I heard a young, male voice in my head explaining to me what those cards were. I didn't know what to think of it. I was definitely going crazy… However, seeing Ben was angry, I decided to stay quiet about that matter. I would question my sanity later, when I was alone.

My cousin gave me the card. I looked at it better. Apparently, the Trap Card was called 'Rapid Evolution'. If I used it, one of my monsters could become immune to any attack during one turn… Based on the description of the card anyway.

"Fine, let's just continue." Ben sighed, taking the next card in his right hand. I let out a sigh as well. Here we go again…

**That's it for this chapter! I think you could guess who that 'idiot' in the shop was... ;) Things should pick up the pace starting from the next chapter, which will feature a bit of a time jump. I hope you liked it and until next time! **


	4. The Entrance Exam

**Kais: Thank you for reviewing! :) As for the boy, that really is a good question… ;)**

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing! :) I do know having this sort of slow pace can really be boring to some readers, I'm not too fond of it either… However, I needed a few chapters to set up some things that will be important later on in the story. Just writing Serena going to entrance exams without her being at least a bit introduced to the world of **_**Duel Monsters **_**(or knowing more about her character and her relationships with people close to her) wouldn't feel genuine. The most of the story will be through her eyes after all… ;) I'm glad you liked my approach to introducing her to **_**Duel Monsters**_**! :)**

**Well, I think it's about time I wrote this chapter…. The Entrance Exams! **

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Come on, Serena! Let's go play!" A young boy's voice shouted. "Hey, wait up!" A young girl exclaimed. Children's laughter could be heard yet again… Until it was quiet. "Serena?" The boy asked. "Yes?" "You're my best friend." "You're my best friend too." The girl giggled. "We'll be best friends forever, won't we?" He asked slowly. "Yeah, forever!" She exclaimed excitedly._

"SERENA!" My mother's shouting woke me up. I let out a yelp before jumping in my bed, my heart beating incredibly fast. She was standing right in front of me, with hands on her hips. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was dressed in a green dress. "Mum, you've scared me!" I looked up at her with a frown.

She frowned back at me. "I _also _prevented you from being late to your entrance exam." She reminded. Wait, what was she talking about?! I quickly looked at the alarm on my night table. My eyes widened once I saw it was nearly nine o'clock!

"_CAZZO_!" I shouted and jumped out of my bed. If I didn't get out of the house in ten minutes, I would definitely be late!

I raced to the bathroom and grabbed my hairbrush. I immediately started brushing my hair. "Why didn't you hear the alarm?" Mum asked from behind me. I turned around to look at her while still brushing my mess of a hair. "I don't know… I guess I just slept in." I presumed the most obvious.

Mum gave me a look of disapproval. "Professors won't tolerate that at the Academy." She said curtly. I let out a groan. Here she was, pretending I always slept in… But this time, I really had no intention to!

It's been two weeks since my parents and I moved back to Rome. It definitely wasn't easy for me. I would miss my old home, and Sarina and Sartorius… However, they encouraged me to keep going forward. They promised to call me every Saturday so they could hear how I was doing. I would also call them in case I had problems I had to talk about.

Ben had entrance exams at the Domino City yesterday. Apparently, he was accepted into the Duel Academy, and he was quite happy about it. He also managed to run into some idiots that day, including a guy called Chazz Princeton… Whoever that was. The only reason I bothered to listen about him was because Ben had this whole 'hate speech' directed towards the guy. I only remembered his name anyway; I didn't bother with the description.

Apparently, he accidentally stepped on his foot, and the 'Chazz' guy took it to such extremes with shouting at my poor cousin that the security had to come and see what was going on.

Anyway, he was already accepted. He also met some nice people from what I heard. However, I didn't really remember the names… Not that it mattered. He was going to the Duel Academy, and that was most important.

Today was supposed to be the practical part of my exam. The written part was yesterday. As far as I was concerned, it went rather well, especially since Ben told me about the basics only a month and a half ago. Now I just had to win the stupid duel so my hell trip could officially begin. Oh, _la gioia_…

I dressed into my old school uniform (a blue blazer, blue leggings and a grey skirt) so I would look at least a bit presentable. Seeing there was nothing I could do to actually make my hair look tidy, I quickly opened a night table drawer. I started looking through it in hopes of finding a hair tie.

However, there was no sign of it. I let out another groan in annoyance. World really hated me for hating _Duel Monsters _so much… I started looking through a box in the drawer. I _did _find it, but something else caught my attention. There was this bracelet I had never seen before….

My eyebrows furrowed as I took it in my hands and started observing it. It was a string bracelet which had a charm in the center. I looked at the charm better. It seemed to be in a shape of a _Duel Monsters_ card… My eyes widened in surprise.

This was _really_ weird. Why I even had this in my drawer, I had _no_ idea. This was the first time I even saw the bracelet! "Serena, what's taking you so long?" Mum asked while walking into the room, her annoyance as clear as day. "Sorry, Mum, I was just…." I started while looking up.

However, I stopped in confusion. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and they were looking at what I was holding in my hands. "Where did you get that?" She asked icily. I couldn't help feeling a bit scared at the sudden change in her tone. "I… I found it in my drawer…." I trailed off nervously.

"Give it to me." She held out her hand expectantly. I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. I honestly didn't understand a thing by now… Why was she getting all worked up over a stupid bracelet?! "Why would you want this kind of stuff?" I gave her a questioning look while lifting the bracelet up. "Serena, give me that bracelet…." Mum started threateningly.

However, before she could finish, Dad called her to come downstairs. She looked at the door before turning her attention back to me. "Before you get out, I want that thing on the table." She said warningly, her eyes not leaving the object in my hands. I frowned but stayed quiet. She then ran out.

I, on the other hand, put the bracelet on my left wrist, right under my long sleeve. Even though I disliked _Duel Monsters_, there was something about this bracelet that made me want to wear it. I didn't know why; it was that feeling in my gut… Besides, ignoring the stupid charm in the middle of the string, the bracelet looked rather nice. I also probably wanted to wear it because Mum wanted it so badly….

That was actually what puzzled me the most. She was overreacting over a simple bracelet…. The question was why. I looked down at the bracelet yet again. Maybe this could be some sort of a good luck charm for me. I could survive three years of hell thanks to this thing!

However, then I remembered I still had to go to the entrance exam! "_Cazzo_, I'll be late!" I exclaimed in panic and quickly grabbed the Duel Disk and the Deck Box from my table. Mum and Dad bought me the Duel Disk a few days ago so I could use it at the entrance exam (yes, apparently you had to come with your own, a bit stupid, but again, the whole _Duel Monsters_ idea had no logic…).

I ran out of the room and downstairs, grabbing my shoes along the way. "Serena?" Dad called from the living room. "Yes?" I shouted while putting on the shoes. He came out of the room. "Listen… You still have the bracelet with you?" He asked slowly. I frowned. What the heck was up with those two and that stupid bracelet?!

I moved up the sleeve and lifted up my left arm, showing the bracelet on my wrist. Dad's eyes landed on it before looking back at me. His mouth formed into a straight line for a few seconds. "Do not listen to what your mother had told you. You can keep it." He finally said. "Thanks." I said coldly and opened the door. "Good luck on the exam!" I could hear him shouting. I shouted back 'thanks' before closing them.

* * *

I was racing the fastest I could through the city. By the time I was in front of a huge building, I could still some people entering it. Two girls dressed in blue uniforms were sitting by a table and looking at candidates. One of them had long, blond hair and green eyes. The other one had curly, black hair and blue eyes.

When I walked over to the table, the crowd had already dispersed. About time too, since I had only ten minutes until ten o'clock. "Good morning." I greeted the girls with a small smile. Leaving the first impression was the most important thing… Even though that was the last thing I wanted at the moment. What I really wanted was to just run and get out of here.

"Good morning." They greeted back. "Your name?" The blonde one asked. "Serena Accardi." I quickly said. "There it is." The black-haired girl pointed at the paper. "You've brought your Duel Disk?" She looked up at me. I lifted my left arm up to show it to her.

After a few moments, she and the blonde girl looked at each other before nodding. "It's alright, you're allowed to enter." The former smiled. "Have a nice day." I smiled back at them, slowly heading towards the entrance of the building.

* * *

Finding the dueling arena wasn't that hard, because directions were written on walls. After about five minutes of going forward, then left, right, and down the hall, I ran through the opened door.

My eyes widened in astonishment. I had to admit, this place was _huge_! There were about four fields down there, and the arena had a lot of seats. When I looked up, I could see _another_, upper part of the arena, which was also filled with seats. Wicked…

I walked down, going past some rows. Finally, I sat on a nearby seat. There were so many people in here… That was why I chose the row which had emptiest number of seats. In fact, there was only one person in the row, a few seats away from me.

It was a guy. He was about my age, based on what I could see. The guy was of African descent. He had black hair and light brown eyes. He was also dressed in a school uniform, but he had a golden pendant around his neck.

Apparently, I was staring too long at him because his eyes landed on me. "You know, it's not polite to stare." He said. There was this calm look on his face. His voice was also calm, yet I could also detect a hint of annoyance. Yet, it never overtook the calmness of his voice…

"Sorry." I yelped and quickly looked away. Just leave it to me to stare at other people like an idiot… Wait. Why did I even care about it? I wasn't supposed to care about what others thought!

"_Serena Accardi, please report to Field 3. Axel Brodie, please report to the Field 4." _A male voice said through the megaphone. My eyes widened and my heart started beating faster the moment he called my name. Why did they have to go by alphabetical order?! I was so frightened at the moment; I just wanted for the ground to swallow and be done with me! I didn't even know how this duel was going to end, and if I didn't win, my parents would only make me try to get in again, and the nightmare would never….

"Are you Serena Accardi?" The voice asked me. I quickly looked to the side to see that guy looking at me with a frown. "Yes, that's me!" I exclaimed. "Then you'd better report to the field. They're waiting." He reminded. "Oh, yes, thanks." I said sheepishly. "That way I could _also_ report to the field, since you're blocking my way." He added with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

My eyes widened in a bit of surprise. "Wait, so you're that Axel guy?" I quickly asked. The guy nodded. "Axel Brodie." He introduced himself calmly. "I'm Serena." I quickly offered my hand to him. He looked at it with a frown. "I know, I've already heard your name." He said simply. "Oh." I looked down, about to put my hand away… Only for Axel to quickly shake it. I looked up in surprise, but shook his hand too.

I then moved out of the way and Axel walked away without another word. "Shoot." I hissed, remembering I had to go down as well. I quickly ran to the Field Number 3.

"_Whatever happens, don't panic. You can get out of anything if you stay calm." _Ben's words from yesterday's call were echoing in my head. _"Good luck tomorrow! Although I do know you'll pass the exam…" _Aunt Maria's words were now in my head instead. Even though I had no idea why Aunt was so convinced I was going to pass this thing…

"_Serena… You're an awesome duelist. But you tend to overthink things… Just don't think too much about what's going to happen, and don't panic. Duels are supposed to be fun, not to make you stressed!" _Suddenly, those words were going right through my mind. It was that boy… Even though I had no idea where those words were coming from, for some reason… They instantly made me feel at ease. It made me feel a lot better.

* * *

When I got to the field, I could see a tall man right across. He was dressed in a blue uniform, and he had dark blue hair and dark blue eyes. "Your name?" The examiner asked. "Serena Accardi." I said, getting my Deck Box out of the pocket of my blazer. I then took out the cards and put the box back in my pocket. Right after that, I shuffled the deck for a few seconds and put it in the place on Duel Disk.

"Well, Miss Accardi, let's see if you have what it takes to enter the academy!" The examiner said, taking out his Duel Disk. From what I could see, it was quite different from mine… I quickly nodded. As much as I didn't want to have what it took, I would then have to try again, and that's _exactly _what I wanted to avoid.

The examiner activated his Duel Disk, and I did so as well. Both of us took out five cards with our right hands.

**Examiner: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"Um… Whose turn is it?" I asked nervously. "Ladies first." The examiner motioned for me to start. "Fine." I said, quickly placing the cards in my right hand. I then drew another card.

Finally, I eyed all of my cards with a frown. I had 'Desert Rose', 'Mystical Space Typhoon', 'Rapid Evolution', 'Mountain Wolf', 'Call of the Haunted' and 'Defensive Mimicry'…. Ben told me I should always have facedowns in case the opponent wanted to attack me. I was going to listen to his words and do so.

"First, I'll summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode." I declared while putting the card on the slot of the Duel Disk. A plant with red flowers, eyes, and parts which looked like arms and legs but were of a plant, appeared on the field in Defense Mode (**ATK/DEF:1000/500)**.

The examiner frowned. "A rather weak monster for defense…. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He asked. Oh, but I knew… However, I didn't say anything. "I'll put in two facedowns and end my turn." I put facedowns in the back of the Duel Disk just as they appeared on the field.

"My turn." The examiner drew a card. "I'm summoning Marauding Captain in Attack Mode." The monster appeared in Attack Mode (**ATK/DEF:1200/400)**.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. I had _no_ idea what type of monster this was… Not that I knew much about them anyway! It's just that… Knowing more about that monster would make things easier for me, if I knew its strengths and weaknesses… However, knowing I didn't know much, I would just have to hope for best with what I had.

"When he's summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my hand," The examiner looked up at me with a smirk on his face. Judging by that expression, he was about to give me hell. No one smirked like that without a good reason!

"So, I'll summon X-Saber Pashuul in Defense Mode!" The monster appeared in Defense Mode (**ATK/DEF:100/0**). My eyebrows furrowed. Zero points? What was the point? There must have been some sort of a catch… "Now go, Marauding Captain, attack the Desert Rose!" The man told his monster.

The Marauding Captain was already flying towards my Desert Rose, getting ready to destroy it… I looked at my monster for a moment, then at facedowns I had. Playing one would definitely save Desert Rose…. However, I decided to save it for later. That way, I wouldn't be able to use its Special Effect!

The monster attacked my Desert Rose, destroying it. "My card's Special Effect activates!" I declared firmly. "When you destroy the Desert Rose, I'm allowed to destroy one card at your field… And I choose the Marauding Captain!" I pointed at the monster. It disappeared in small particles. "I'll put two facedowns and end my turn." The examiner frowned. Two facedowns appeared on the field.

I drew a card. "My monster's Special Effect activates!" The examiner suddenly declared. I looked up in utter surprise. _What the heck_ was this?! "Each time you draw a card, you lose 1000 points." He smirked yet again.

My eyes widened and I let out a growl once I checked my gear. My points were already down to 3000 because of that single move…

**Examiner: 4000 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

What was I thinking?! Why didn't I use the Desert Rose's effect to destroy that stupid little monster instead?! I even stated how there was some sort of a catch if he had freaking 0 points… Serena, you were an idiot!

"Fine." I looked up. I may have made a mistake, but this thing wasn't over yet. I could hopefully still turn things around if I played the damn cards right. "I activate 'Graceful Charity'!" I lifted the card up. It disappeared after a few moments. "It allows me to draw three cards, and discard two from my hand!" I drew three cards and looked at them, then I discarded two. I didn't exactly get the best cards…

However, I think I knew what to do, at least for this turn. "I'll summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode!" I put the card in the slot. A grey wolf howled, appearing in Attack Mode (**ATK/DEF:800/1500)**. "Thanks to its Special Effect, the Mountain Wolf is able to attack you directly." I let a smile appear on my face. "Go, Mountain Wolf, attack him!" I ordered.

The wolf let out a howl before running right towards the examiner. It used its claws to attack him. The examiner let out a yelp. I quickly looked at my gear. His Life Points were down to 3200.

**Examiner: 3200 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

I let out a sigh. It wasn't much, but at least there was 200 of difference between our Life Points now. "I'll set another facedown, and end my turn." I said, setting another facedown. Still, if I didn't think of something soon, I might as well end up losing this thing…

The examiner drew a card. "I'll play 'Mystical Space Typhoon', to destroy one of your facedowns." He declared. The facedown from earlier appeared, revealing itself to be 'Mystical Space Typhoon'. My 'Call of The Haunted' card I had set up a few moments ago was destroyed. "Cazzo." I muttered under my breath.

"Then I'll summon D.D. Assailant in Attack Mode!" The monster appeared (**ATK/DEF:1700/1600**). "Now, attack her Mountain Wolf!" Just as the Assailant was about to attack, I smirked. "I activate my Trap Card, 'Rapid Evolution'!" I declared.

The facedown lifted itself up. "Thanks to this card, my monster's immune to any attack for one turn." I explained. The monster attacked my wolf, but it passed right through it. "It saved you this time." The examiner frowned. "I'll end my turn."

I drew another card. "You lose another 1000 Life Points." The man reminded. I frowned.

**The Examiner: 3200 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

I looked at the monsters on his side of field. That 'Pashuul' thing was the real problem… I remembered it now. Ben told me something about this type of cards… That thing practically couldn't be destroyed by attacking it! If only I had used my Desert Rose in the right way back then…

Suddenly, I could have sworn I heard a howl. "Huh?" I looked around in confusion. "What's that?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. "What was what?" The examiner raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear a howl?" "I didn't hear anything." He frowned.

Suddenly, what seemed to be a spirit of a dingo appeared next to me. I was staring at it in utter surprise. However, I then looked down at the card I had drawn. It was the 'Wetland Dingo'… I had no idea why in the world I could actually see it as a spirit… However, I couldn't summon it now. This was Level 7 monster after all, I needed to sacrifice two monsters…. Thankfully, I knew how to handle that part. I still had my 'Ocean Bacteria' card after all… The real problem was the 'Pashuul' card.

I looked at my hand with cards. I still had 'Defensive Mimicry', 'Wetland Dingo', 'Ocean Bacteria', and 'Mystical Space Typhoon'… Finally, I looked up.

"I activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon', which destroys your facedown." I declared, lifting up the card. The examiner's facedown was destroyed. "Then I'll summon Ocean Bacteria in Defense Mode." I summoned the monster. A white, giant-looking bacteria in shape of cylinder appeared in Defense Mode (**ATK/DEF:1200/500)**. "Mountain Wolf's effect activates, which means he'll attack you directly yet again." I added.

The wolf slashed its claws at the examiner, taking another 800 of his Life Points.

**The Examiner: 2600 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

"I'll end my turn by setting a facedown." I finished.

The man drew another card. "I'll play 'Reinforcement of The Army', which allows me to add a Level 4 or lower Warrior from deck to my hand." He declared. I resisted the urge to groan. Those two were a real pain already, and now he wanted to summon a third one?!

"I'm summoning Command Knight in Attack Mode (**ATK/DEF:1200/1900)**. Thanks to its Special Effect, other Warrior-Type monsters on my field gain 300 Attack Points!" My eyes widened. This wasn't good….

"Command Knight, attack her Mountain Wolf, and D. D. Assailant, attack her Ocean Bacteria!" He ordered.

Both of the monsters were flying to mine, getting ready to attack… First it was the Command Knight. "I activate 'Defensive Mimicry'!" I shouted, revealing my facedown. "With this card, my wolf gains appearance of your monster, therefore confusing him and stopping him from attacking!" Just as I said those words, Mountain Wolf gained the appearance of the Command Knight.

The real Command Knight stopped and looked at my monster in confusion. However, it retreated back to its side of the field. "Smart move…" The examiner mused. "But my other monster can still destroy your bacteria!" He then reminded. "That's exactly what I'm looking forward too." I smirked, suddenly feeling pleased.

The other monster destroyed my bacteria. "Now that you have destroyed my Ocean Bacteria, two smaller ones appear in its place." I stated. Two smaller bacteria appeared, with **ATK/DEF:600/500 **points each. "I'll end my turn." He said.

I drew another card. "Another 1000 points." The man reminded me. "Yeah, I know." I frowned.

**Examiner: 2600 LP**

**Me: 1000 LP**

I couldn't keep up like this. If I didn't win on this turn, then I'd lose on the next one… I looked at the card I had drawn. If this thing didn't bring me luck, then I'd be done for.

"I activate 'Pot of Greed'!" I declared and lifted up the card. "It allows me to draw two cards." I drew two cards and then smirked. For the first time, I felt like I knew what I was doing. I had him right where I wanted…

"Then, I'll activate Mountain Wolf's Special Effect, which means you'll lose 800 points again." I said. The wolf attacked the examiner.

**Examiner: 1800 LP**

**Me: 1000 LP**

"Now, I'll sacrifice those two bacteria to summon Wetland Dingo." I declared just as they disappeared from the field.

The dingo appeared on the field with a howl (**ATK/DEF:2400/1800)**. "Go, Wetland Dingo! Attack his Command Knight!" I declared. The dingo charged right towards the monster and slashed its claws at it. It was destroyed. The man's Life Points fell to 600.

**Examiner: 600 LP**

**Me: 1000 LP**

"That still doesn't help you," The examiner frowned. "You'll lose on the next turn." "Except that I'm not done." I smirked. "I activate 'Fair in War'." I lifted up the card in my hand.

"With this card, both us lose the amount of Life Points equal to the lowest amount of Attack Points of a monster on my field." I looked straight at him. "And since my Mountain Wolf has 800 Attack Points…." I trailed off with a smirk.

The man's eyes widened just as the card started shining. An explosion could be heard as both of us lost some of our Life Points.

**Examiner: 0 LP**

**Me: 200 LP**

All of the monsters on the field disappeared as smoke cleared. I could even hear cheering coming from some people.

The examiner looked at me from across the field. "Congratulations. You're officially accepted into West Duel Academy." He smiled. "Thank you." I smiled back. While I was still against this idea, for some reason, I couldn't help feeling some sort of excitement. This was the first time I actually won this… And I was pleased that I won. However, that was most probably because my parents wouldn't have to force me to take this exam again… Yes, that was it.

* * *

When I got off the Dueling Field, I could see Axel looking at me a few meters away. His arms were folded while he was leaning on a nearby seat with the left leg against it. "Well, congratulations." He said calmly, that frown not leaving his face at all. "Thanks." I smiled. "Did you pass as well?" I then asked curiously. He simply nodded. "Congratulations to you too then!" I grinned. He nodded, not saying anything else.

"I'll see you at the Academy then." He walked away. I was looking after his disappearing form. He sure didn't like talking to other people… I could understand him though. He was just an acquaintance after all, I had no friends…. Nor did I need them.

I looked at the bracelet under my left sleeve. Well, who would have thought? Looks like this thing really _did_ bring me luck!

Letting out a sigh of relief, I ran towards the exit, wanting to call Ben, then Aunt, and Sartorius and Sarina to tell them the 'good' news.

**Well…. That's it! Now… Next few chapters will be at the West Duel Academy! I can't wait for upcoming chapters because this is just the beginning! I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	5. West Duel Academy

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked the chapter and the duel! :) I'm not much informed about other techniques because I never watched other spin-offs (apart from some episodes of 5D's and I started watching Arc-V a bit). Nonetheless, I wouldn't write them anyway because I want this story to be authentic to the show and believable… :)**

**I only own my OC's!**

_I was looking around the place. Of course, there was nothing but __**mist**__. I was used to it by now though. As much as it annoyed me, I knew there was nothing I could do to actually make it go away!_

"_First dark figures, then children's laughter… What's next?" I asked myself sarcastically. Great, now I was talking to myself. I started playing with the bracelet on my left wrist. This mist was literally driving me to insanity! _

_Suddenly, I could hear something cracking from behind me. I quickly spun around with my heart rate increasing. However, there was nothing. I turned back to where I had been looking before… Only to be met with light purple eyes looking right into my light blue ones. Only one person I knew had that eye color…_

_I quickly looked up to see Sartorius towering over me. However, his whole appearance was different. He was dressed in what seemed to be white and blue uniform. His long hair was lifted in the air, and white light was glowing all over his body. _

_The biggest change was his face though. Instead of seeing a usually calm look on it, it was contorted in a huge, sinister grin. His eyes were staring at me, filled with insanity._

_I've never seen Sartorius like that, and at that moment, I couldn't help feeling frightened. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, and I definitely didn't want to stay here! The worst thing was, I was scared of someone I looked up to as a parent figure…_

_I let out a scream and turned around to run… When he caught my right wrist harshly, spinning me around in process._

"_Foolish girl… Did you really think you could outsmart me?!" Sartorius shouted at me. "Stop it, please!" I cried while looking away. All of this was like a terrible nightmare, and I wanted to wake up so badly… _

_However, my pleas apparently only made it even worse, because wind started blowing violently. "I WON'T! YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR DESTINY, OR THE LIGHT!" The man roared, his eyes dangerously narrowed at me. "NO, PLEASE, STOP IT…" I screamed back._

"Miss, wake up!" Someone was shaking me by my shoulders. I quickly opened my eyes to see a girl from a seat next to me with her hands on my shoulders. "What…" I asked in a daze while still feeling dizzy. "You don't remember screaming while you were sleeping?" She questioned. I put a hand on my forehead and gave her a perplexed look.

I was still feeling disoriented… "What?" I repeated. "You were screaming some words like 'stop it', and a name 'Sartorius'." The girl explained, her brown eyes looking at me worriedly. It was then I noticed something. All of the girls from our helicopter were standing around my seat.

"I was?" I asked slowly. The girl nodded. "It doesn't matter, I'm fine." I quickly tried to brush it off. "You're sure?" She asked. I quickly nodded. The girl let out a sigh but sat back into her seat. Other girls started walking back to their seats. I let out a sigh while playing with the bracelet on my left wrist.

"_What's that?" The girl's voice asked curiously. "I have the same one. Now you'll never forget me, 'cause you'll always have it with you." The boy's voice echoed cheerfully._

I blinked before looking at the bracelet in surprise. I still had no idea why in the world I was hearing those voices inside my head… It was quite confusing. Before the day I had the Entrance Exam, I had never seen that bracelet… Then why was I experiencing this?! Did it mean something?

Letting out a deep breath, I kept looking at the thing on my wrist. If I were to trust those words, this thing was apparently given to me by someone… But if it was, shouldn't I know more about it? Was there something I didn't know? _If_ I had had it before, then why couldn't I remember any of it?! And why were Mum and Dad so worked up over this little thing?!

"Is that your bracelet?" A voice from next to me asked. I quickly looked up to see the girl who had woken me up. Her brown eyes were looking over the thing on my wrist. "Yes?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "It's so beautiful! Where did you get it?!" She demanded excitedly.

I had no idea why she was so excited over this thing… But I decided to go along with it. The sooner we finished discussing this, the faster people would stop bothering me.

"I don't know, really. I just found it in my drawer a month ago." I responded honestly with a shrug. My eyes landed on the bracelet for a few moments. "Why are you asking?" I then looked up at the girl. "Those bracelets used to be on sale about nine years ago at the Domino City. It was a limited edition only; they don't sell it anymore!" She explained with this huge grin on her face.

I couldn't help feeling a bit surprised once I heard those words. That meant this thing was basically from Domino City?! I lived there until I was seven… If she said they were on sale nine years ago, then I was six back then. I was there during that 'limited edition' mania… But then why couldn't I remember where I got that bracelet from?! Now that I thought of it, I didn't remember much of my life in Domino City back then in general… Not even people from neighborhood. You would have thought I'd remember at least something… But it was all blank. Weird.

"Really?" That was the only thing I asked her. The girl nodded. "In fact, they used to be sold in pairs." She added while moving a strand of blond hair out of her face. "As in, _two_ of them?" I raised an eyebrow yet again. "Yes." "Wait, how do you know about this? I used to live in Domino City, but aren't you from Europe if you applied for this branch of academy?" I gave her a questioning look.

She rolled her eyes. "My older brother lives there, that's why. I begged him to buy me those bracelets, but a young boy and a woman snatched the last pair right under his nose." She explained with a frown. "Oh." I said simply.

If what that girl said was true, if you could buy two bracelets back then…

"_What's that?" "I have the same one. Now you'll never forget me, 'cause you'll always have it with you." _Those voices were echoing in my head. Could it mean I was given this thing? Could it be that this was actually some sort of a memory? It must have been, either that, or I was officially going crazy.

Seeing I had no chances of figuring it out at this moment, I decided to just drop it. Instead, my thoughts wandered over to the girl's words about me screaming while sleeping. She did mention I was saying some words like 'stop it' and 'Sartorius'… But why? I definitely couldn't remember what the dream was about.

"_Attention to all students, we'll be landing in five minutes. Please remain seated." _The pilot's voice echoed through the helicopter. All of the girls quickly looked through the window in excitement. I rolled my eyes but decided to look through the window as well. I could see a huge island below us. From what I could see, there was a huge forest, some buildings, houses and a huge building in the center.

I couldn't help grinning. So far, I've liked the forest the most!

Yes, time has literally flown since my Entrance Exam. So here I was, flying to what would be my prison for the next three years.

"_I knew you would make it to the Academy! I'm so proud of both you and Ben!" Aunt Maria shouted over the phone excitedly._

"_Congratulations, cousin. I knew you had it in you!" Ben told me over the phone happily._

"_See? It wasn't that bad." Sarina noted once I called her. "I guess so." I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I'll only say 'congratulations' because my brother is trying to snatch the phone out of my hand so he could talk to you." She stated. _

_I let out a laugh, trying to imagine what that looked like. "Fine, give him the phone." I said. "You're in?" Sartorius asked through the line. "Si." I replied. "I knew you could do it." "Is it because you predicted it or you really knew?" I asked playfully. "Let's say I had faith in both you and the cards." He responded after a few moments. _

I sighed while putting things in my backpack. Here I was, off to hell…

* * *

Once I stepped out of the helicopter, I slung the backpack over my right shoulder. I took a quick look at my surroundings. We landed at the top of the building, and other helicopters were slowly landing. From here, you could see the whole island perfectly!

However, I had no time to observe the view because we were told to go downstairs. I followed the other girls inside the building. We were walking through a long hallway until we were met with two women standing outside one door at the end of it.

"Please form a line." One of them asked politely. I stood there third in line to the left. From what I could see, those two were giving us our uniforms.

"Your name?" The woman questioned once it was my turn. "Serena Accardi." I answered. She looked at the paper in her hands. "Let's see…" She trailed off. After a few seconds, she nodded. Then she took some clothes out of one of three boxes next to her feet. "Here's your uniform. Once you change into it, walk out of the changing room and into the main room." She ordered. "Thank you." I nodded before taking my uniform and walking through the door.

* * *

Once I was in the changing room, I quickly put the uniform and the backpack on a nearby bench. I decided to observe the clothes better once I saw what I looked like in them. I quickly changed into my new uniform and put the old one in my backpack.

I then decided to look at myself in front of a nearby mirror. I was wearing a black, sleeveless, v-neck shirt and dark red dress which went a bit past my knees. A sleeveless, white jacket with red marks on the sides of my arms and at the front was over my shirt. I was also wearing black leggings, a red belt, and knee-length, red boots.

Why I got the red uniform was unknown to me, considering I could see other girls wearing blue or yellow variations of my own one. I would have rather taken the blue one, or even the yellow one; because I looked ridiculous in red, my own hair was red as well!

However, they must have given this to me for a reason, whatever it was. I let out a sigh and looked at myself again. After a few seconds, I frowned. Everything looked fine, apart from my jacket. It just didn't look right… I decided to unbutton it. Now it looked much better. I let out a smile before looking at myself one more time. I decided to keep the bracelet on my wrist. It would be my charm for luck during next three years after all!

I then took my Deck Box and looked at it, thinking of where to put it. At the end, I decided to strap it to the belt, at the right, front part of my waist. Putting it in a pocket would have been easier, but this uniform had quite small pockets. Quite a stupid design, really. I get it that skirt didn't have them, but jacket could have bigger ones!

* * *

Once we entered the main room, I could see other guys and girls there. All of us were apparently waiting for someone to show up at the screen. And, after about five minutes, the principal started his welcoming speech. He was a man in his forties, with black hair and dark brown eyes.

I didn't bother to listen to the speech though. Instead, I was looking around the place. Most of the students were listening to the principal's every single word as if their life depended on it. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Of course. What else to expect from dueling fanatics?

Suddenly, I could feel someone's eyes on me, so I quickly turned around. A man was staring at me with a frown on his face. He had pointy black hair and dark eyes which were looking right at me. He was dressed in a dark blue uniform.

There was something odd, almost scary about him… However, what I wanted to know was why he was staring at me like that. Was me not paying attention to the speech that obvious?!

I quickly looked at the screen and away from the man. I wasn't really interested in hearing the rest of it, I just wanted to pretend. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long because it was over after a few minutes.

At the end of the speech, we were told to head to our dorms. As we were exiting the hall, women from before were giving us Duel Disks and something called PDA. The latter apparently served as a communication device around the island.

Anyway, I walked out of the building and sat on a nearby bench to get some fresh air. I then turned on my PDA to see which dorm I was in. It was apparently called Slifer Red… Why it was called like that, I didn't know. Nor did I care. From what I could see, the dorm was located near the entrance of the forest…

I couldn't help grinning yet again. I could go right into the forest to search for some more plants! Suddenly, the red uniform didn't bother me anymore. I was near the only thing I liked here, and that was the only thing that mattered!

After a few minutes of silence, I decided to head to the Slifer Red dorm (a really odd name, but again, that wasn't my problem).

* * *

A construction which reminded me of a shed was in my view. I frowned for a moment before sighing. It looked terrible…. The only thing that looked fine was its new, red paint. That, and the dark red roof.

From what I could see, there were many doors of this shed, for the upper and lower floor. Stairs were there as well. Letting out another sigh, I walked to the door number 6. I hoped the inside looked better than the outside… Fingers crossed.

I opened the door and walked inside. "_Mamma mia_." I breathed with a smile on my face. I had the whole room to myself! It was small, it had a small bed, night desk and a table with a chair, and a small bathroom was on my right.

I threw myself at the bed with a grin. It may have been small, but it was worth it! I didn't have annoying roommates, which meant I wouldn't have to talk to people. That meant I wouldn't have to talk about _Duel Monsters_! "Finally, something good in this hell." I smiled and grabbed my pillow tightly. I soon found myself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Someone knocking on the door woke me up. With another groan, I opened my eyes and stood up. After rubbing my eyes, I quickly walked to the door and opened them.

A girl with short, purple hair and purple eyes was looking at me. She was also dressed in the Red uniform (I would really have to learn the odd name of the dorm). "Yes?" I looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but welcoming dinner is about to start." She explained sheepishly.

I blinked for a moment. Welcoming dinner? That was when I could hear my stomach growling. The girl looked at me in surprise. "Thank you then!" I smiled sheepishly before slamming the door in her face. A bit rude, I knew that… But I wanted to avoid an awkward situation with my stomach growling so loudly.

It was then I realized how hungry I actually was… I haven't eaten a thing since this afternoon when we arrived at the island! So after trying to tame my hair by tying it in a ponytail, I ran out of the room.

Some students were walking towards the upper floor, so I followed them there. They were walking through the door which were bigger than others. I walked inside what seemed to be the dorm's dining room. A lot of benches and tables were inside… And _food_ was on the table!

Before I knew what I was doing, I raced to the furthest bench in the room. I then sat down and grabbed a nearby fork. I didn't even bother to see what was on the plate, I was so hungry that I could eat an entire horse…

Suddenly, someone took the fork out of my hands. "Not yet! We need to wait for the professor's welcoming speech!" A guy with wild blue hair and green eyes glared at me. I glared back. Why would anyone listen to that stupid speech anyway?! It was only holding you back from eating! Now that I thought of it better, those 'welcoming dinner' speeches weren't smart at all. They would starve us to death before we even started dueling… Or, in my case, they'd just starve me to death. I had no intention of dueling here. I would avoid it as much as possible!

Seeing I unfortunately had to wait, I decided to look down at my plate. The portion wasn't big… But the choice of food certainly made up for it. It was fried calamari with arancini… I see they at least knew what good stuff was. That, plus we were kind of in between two Italian islands, which was still Italy… And they ate this!

I smiled. This was just too good to be true…

Then, a man walked into the room just as everyone sat down. He looked like he was in his fifties. He had short, dark green hair and grey eyes. "Good evening, Slifer Red students. My name is Alessandro Rossi," He started his speech. I didn't listen to it, I only heard how he wished us luck and that we could do anything if we did our best. Professor Rossi… An easier name to remember, considering he was Italian, and he had the same Italian accent like me.

Once the professor finished his speech, it was finally time to dig in. I quickly grabbed the fork and took one fried calamari with it. Even the food tasted good… It made me proud to be Italian for sure.

After five minutes, I was done with the dinner. That portion was unfortunately the only thing we would get tonight, so I decided to get out. Just as I was closing the door of the dining room, my phone started ringing.

I took it out of my pocket to see who was calling. It was Sartorius… My thoughts went back to that dream I had this afternoon but didn't remember. However, I decided to forget about it and just answer the call.

"Hello?" I asked once I was on the line. _"Serena?" _Sartorius' voice answered. "Yes?" I responded. _"I'm not interrupting you?" _I shook my head. "No, you're not. I've just finished my dinner." I explained with a smile. _"Then it's a good thing I hadn't called you earlier." _He responded in amusement. "I agree." I chuckled. Even _Ben_ knew that interrupting during a meal would make me quite angry…

"_What do you think of it for now?" _The man then asked me. "They have good food and a beautiful forest. Everything else is just stupid, including the uniform. Even my dorm has a weird name." I sighed with an eye-roll. _"I see." _Sartorius responded simply.

I raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling he didn't call me to hear how I was doing… It was only the first day after all! "Is there a particular reason you had called me? How's Sarina?" I asked. _"Sarina's fine." _He paused after a few moments.

"_You're right, I do have a reason for calling you this late." _"What is it?" I asked curiously. _"I want you to be extremely careful from now on." _Sartorius said firmly. My eyebrows furrowed in surprise. He sounded so serious about this… "Why?" I demanded. _"Because you'll be in great danger in the future." _

Shivers ran down my spine. Wait, so the person I looked up to was now basically telling me how I was going to be in some sort of danger?! I knew Sartorius' predictions were never wrong, but this was the first time he actually predicted something about me…

"Are you sure?" I asked warily. _"You know my predictions are unfortunately never wrong." _The man noted coldly. "I know they're not! It's just that… Telling me this doesn't exactly make me feel at ease, if you know what I mean." I responded truthfully. _"Would you prefer something happening to you without being aware of it?" _He asked as if he dared me to answer that question.

I frowned. "No… This has nothing to do with you! I'm just nervous…" I explained. "Sorry." I then added. _"No, I understand this is so sudden. However, I'm just trying to help." _Sartorius replied after a few moments of silence.

I let out a sigh. "So, what kind of danger awaits me?" I asked while leaning on the pillar of the dorm with my left arm. _"It's not clear. What I do know is that you can't trust anyone until you get to know them better." _I whistled. "Well, I still have you, Ben, Sarina and Aunt Maria." I reminded with a smile.

It was silent for a few seconds. "Sartorius, are you still on the line?" I asked in confusion. _"Yes. My apologies, but I've got to hang up." _My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why did he want to hang up so quickly? "Alright then." I said simply. "See you then." I said when he hung up.

Looking at the phone, I frowned and put it back in my pocket. Sartorius was certainly acting strange… He never hung up nor changed the subject so quickly. It was as if he wanted to just finish the conversation as fast as possible… Weird.

I looked up to see the sun still hadn't set. Maybe I could go and see that forest before turning in. So I decided to just head there.

* * *

The forest had a lot of Mediterranean trees and plants. It looked a lot different from trees in Japan… I liked it though. It was a nice, pleasant change. It was definitely huge…

I walked through some trees to what seemed to be a small clearing. There was a cliff near it, which was looking right at the Mediterranean Sea. A big oak tree was not too far away from it. Looking around the small place, I walked closer to the tree and put my right hand on it.

This place was so peaceful, and the view was just beautiful… Definitely the place that made the most impression. At that moment, I forgot about all of my worries. Stupid dueling school, just being here, my parents' and Sartorius' strange behavior, and even the mysterious bracelet left my mind for a few seconds.

I let out a sigh of relief and spread out my arms while the warm wind was breezing past me. It felt so good to be free…

Suddenly, someone's hand landed on my shoulder. I turned around with a scream while my heart was literally near to jumping out of my chest from shock. The guy let out a yelp and jumped back while I quickly ran and hid behind the tree.

I took a deep breath to try to calm down my heart rate. That guy scared me so much… Who was it anyway? I finally decided to step out of my hiding place. Once I walked out from behind the tree, I could see Axel looking at me with a frown and his arms folded. It was almost as if he was waiting for me to come out…

Looking at him better, I realized he wasn't wearing the uniform I have seen today. Instead, he was dressed in a red tank top, black sleeveless vest and pants.

"Your scream can certainly pierce through one's ears." He noted. "Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come from behind my back." I reminded a bit annoyed. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just surprised to see someone else here. Everyone else is at the dinner after all." Axel explained while looking away.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not there anymore. Besides, I wanted to see the forest." I stated. He didn't say anything. Instead, he walked over to the cliff. "You're Italian?" He presumed, looking away from the sea and right towards me. "My accent's that obvious?" I questioned. He nodded.

"From which part of Italy are you from?" "Actually, I was born in Domino City. My parents met there, but they're from Rome." I explained. "What about you?" I then asked. "My family lives in southern France." He said simply. "So we're kind of neighbors, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "If you could say so." He responded with that frown still on his face.

I looked at his clothing better. "Which dorm are you in?" I asked curiously. His eyes landed on me. "Obelisk Blue." He replied curtly. "What is that?" I asked, sounding completely clueless. More weird names, that was for sure…

"Wait, so you don't know how the dorms work?" Axel looked at me incredulously. "Nope. I didn't even want to be here in the first place. I hate dueling." I replied nonchalantly. "No offense, but what are you doing here then?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm here because my parents forced me into this prison, that's why. I'm not allowed to get out of here until I graduate." I stated. "But enough about me, tell me at least what the thing is with the dorms." I quickly added.

"The West Duel Academy is modeled after the central academy in southern Japan. This island has three dorms; Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Slifer Red." Axel started once he sat at the edge of the cliff. I sat next to him. "The way you're ranked at the exam is the way you get sorted into the dorm. Obelisk Blue is for the ones who are excellent, or went to a prep school. They have the best dorm."

I looked at him for a moment. Obelisk Blue… I would definitely have to remember all those names. "Then there's Ra Yellow. It's the second-best dorm, for good students. Finally, there's Slifer Red, the lowest-ranked dorm for those who did the exam the worst." I rolled my eyes. That meant I was in the worst dorm possible, huh?

Now that I thought of it, I kind of deserved it. I studied for the exam the least I could, only so I could get passable grades. Studying was never a problem for me, I had good grades back then… But this was my way to rebel against my parents' decision to force me into this school. Hence it made sense I was a Slifer. I had bad grades because I didn't bother to learn more. It was something I intended to keep doing.

"Well, thanks for the explanation." I cracked a small smile. Axel simply nodded and looked at the sea. "Do you remember the professor from today's speech?" I then asked. "What about him?" He looked at me. "Who is he?" "That's Thelonious Viper. He's the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm." The guy said. I simply nodded. At least I knew what that man's name was…

That was when Axel stood up. "Where are you going?" I looked up at him in confusion. "Back to my dorm." He responded as if it was obvious. He then walked away without another word. "Good night to you too!" I shouted sarcastically to him before huffing. That guy was weird… First, he talked a little, and then he would walk away like that…I started playing with my bracelet.

"_I love it! I'll never take it off!" The girl squealed. _

I looked at my wrist in confusion. There it was again… A memory, or a hallucination, I wasn't sure what exactly it was.

At that moment, the wind started blowing yet again. I let myself fall on the grass with my arms spread out. Finally, I could get some peace and quiet… I could finally forget about all of my problems, at least for this short amount of time.

**That's the fifth chapter done! A little note; don't expect seeing Serena dueling much in these few chapters. She said she'd avoid dueling as much as possible, and this is still a set up for the upcoming events in the story. Things have picked up the pace, and it should get even quicker to the real thing soon. **

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	6. A Bad Feeling

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! Well, as much as I don't want to reveal much about that part, it definitely won't be easy... Glad you liked both the 'Slifer shed' lmao and the chapter! As for Axel and Viper, the only thing I'll say is that as of yet, Axel isn't officially Viper's protegee. Honestly, I did find some characters in Arc-V likable like Yuya and Declan and I liked the Z-Arc concept, but the whole thing could have been executed better. :)**

**I only own my OC's!**

"SERENA ACCARDI!" The male voice roared angrily. My heart started racing and I quickly looked away from the ceiling with my eyes wide. All eyes in the classroom were staring at me. When people did that, it usually meant one thing. Despite my praying, I knew it was me who was in trouble. He had called my name after all. Oh, how I wished he hadn't done that…

Looking up, I could see Professor Viper marching right towards my desk. By now, my eyes widened to the size of saucers because he was literally towering over me. I had absolutely _no_ idea what I had done to piss him off so much… _'Mercy, please…' _ I prayed mentally, hoping it would somehow help me survive this man's wrath.

No, I wasn't joking. I wasn't overreacting. From what I heard, Professor Viper had quite a reputation here for his strict teaching methods. His behavior was even _worse_… He was definitely the scariest person at this school!

By now, he was right in front of my desk. The man's dark eyes were looking right into mine, showing what seemed to be displeasure and anger… "SERENA ACCARDI!" He roared yet again, making other students cover their ears. "Yes, sir?!" I practically jumped out of my chair and straightened up, as if I were a soldier in an army. Mercy, that was the only thing I prayed for…

"Why weren't you paying attention to my lesson?" He demanded icily. "I _was_." I reminded slowly. "Actions speak louder than words, Miss Accardi… You were staring at the ceiling instead of the board!" Professor Viper glared. As much as that man frightened me, I also found this to be quite unfair. I _was_ paying attention to his lesson about 'Field Spells'; I looked away from the ceiling for only a few seconds!

"But I looked away for a few seconds!" I said with a frown. Judging by the angry look on his face, that was the last thing I should have said. "Sit." He growled. I didn't have to be told twice. I literally jumped on the chair with my heart beating like crazy. Why… _Why_ in the world did that man have to work here?! Couldn't he have worked at the main academy?! My guess was they had better salary there… If that made sense.

Professor Viper put hands on the desk and lowered his head, so he was looking right in my eyes. "Miss Accardi… When you first stepped into this classroom, I made it clear you should always pay attention to my words, until you step out." He spoke up icily, making shivers run down my spine. The worst thing was he _did _have a point… He did say those words!

Not knowing what to say, I simply nodded. That was when the bell rang. "Detention, today at 12 PM, right here. Do _not_ be late." He gave me another glare. "You're dismissed!"

I let out a groan and let my head fall on the desk. What did I do to deserve a detention with freaking Viper?! The man was like a snake just waiting to give you one, his last name was the name of a snake as well!

"Day number 65, and you already managed to get yourself a detention with Viper. Congratulations, Serena." I said to myself sarcastically while ticking off another day in this hell hole on my pocket calendar. I was such an idiot…

* * *

I made my way out of the main building and towards the forest. Ever since I found that small cliff, it's been a place where I could clear my thoughts completely.

It's been two months since I've started attending this stupid academy. So far, nothing has changed. My day would pass exactly the same. In the morning, I would have classes until afternoon. Then, we'd have a lunch break. The rest of the day we were allowed to spend the way we liked. I would spend that time either collecting flowers or observing nature on the island.

After dinner, I would head over to the cliff, where I would most usually find Axel. He was the only person I bothered to talk to on this island. However, from what I figured out; he wasn't such a bad guy. Even though our conversations were usually short, he would always say something before walking away. Again, I could tell he wasn't a bad guy. He just didn't want to talk much. The short conversations we had would usually help me forget about my problems for at least a while.

The first problem was the fact I was stuck in this damn place. That fact spoke for itself. The second problem was how much I missed my cousin, aunt, Sarina and Sartorius. The third problem tied itself to the siblings.

For some reason, both Sartorius and Sarina haven't called me since my first day at the academy. They haven't been answering to my calls either. It was quite confusing. It was literally as if they disappeared. I couldn't help feeling concerned and sad. I missed them so much…. I could always tell them all of my problems, and they would always be there to cheer me up… But there's been none of that for the past two months.

Apart from those problems, professors here seemed to be fine, apart from the snake itself. Si, you guessed it, Professor Viper. I had no idea what the heck his problem was… He was always either cranky, angry, strict, or just pissed off. His four moods were more or less the same, which made it even worse…

I was serious. He was treating us as if we were in an army! He always kept going on about how duelists had to give their maximum, and how there was no holding back if you wanted to be best… My head started aching because of how much he said that nonsense over and over. He was definitely the biggest dueling fanatic out of everyone here, and I disliked him for that. He should calm down his burning passion and use it for more productive things, not torturing students!

Finally, I sat by the cliff and took out my mobile phone. I had two hours until my detention… Today classes finished early, and I was going to use this chance to try to call Sarina or Sartorius. "Alright, the hundredth time's a charm, Serena. Just think positively." I muttered to myself encouragingly. I then dialed the number.

After a full minute, I received no answer. I decided to use Sarina's phone number this time. However, to my shock, _someone answered the phone _after a few seconds. _"Serena?"_ Sarina's voice asked in a whisper. "Sarina, it's really you!" I exclaimed excitedly. I couldn't believe it! What I felt was pure happiness….

"_You shouldn't have called me." _She said coldly. I stopped breathing for a moment. Why was she acting so… Cold? It wasn't like her! What was going on?! "Why?" I demanded. _"Serena, I have no time to argue about this." _She retorted.

At that moment, the only thing I was feeling was pure anger. It was so sudden, and directed towards someone I've never been angry with… I wanted to talk to Sarina and her brother so badly, and here she was, pushing me away like that?! How could she be so uncaring?! "Oh, but I _do_." I suddenly growled. No, I've had it enough. I was getting some answers, and I was going to get them _now_.

"And you know what? I really don't understand why you and Sartorius keep pushing me away! What have I done to make you two avoid me?!" I started shouting._ "Enough, Serena." _The woman said in a warning tone. "No, I'm the one who should be saying that! If you two hate me and don't want to have anything to do with me, you can say it right here!" I kept shouting furiously.

It was silent for a few seconds. Then, I could have sworn I heard a gasp through the phone. It was quiet, but audible. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. If only I knew what was happening on the other end of line… _"Serena, I don't have time for this. Do __**not**__ call me, __**or **__Sartorius from now on." _The woman said warningly. "Oh, yes, I will…." I started threateningly but she has already hung up.

I kept looking at my phone. I was still mad… But if that's what they wanted, then fine! I didn't need them anyway! Putting the phone in my pocket with a huff, I threw myself at grass. It was at moments like this I wanted to just disappear, or for the ground to swallow me…

Why were Sartorius and Sarina avoiding me? What had I done to make them dislike me so much? I thought they were people I could trust…

Closing my eyes, I spread my arms and legs while wind was breezing past me. Lying on grass always made things easier….

* * *

_Screaming could be heard from all sides. I kept looking around the darkness in confusion. I had no idea what was going on… Yet those screams made my skin crawl. They were so high-pitched and scary…_

"_Serena!" A voice called to me, making me quickly turn around. Sarina was running up to me. "Sarina?" I asked slowly. "Help us." She said and grabbed my hand, her eyes showing fear and panic. I honestly didn't understand a thing anymore… Help who? And why? What was going on in here?!_

_However, I didn't get to finish because she was suddenly pulled away by a huge, white hand. "SARINA!" I screamed and started running after her. "HELP US!" She screamed back. Then, she just disappeared…._

"_Serena!" Another voice made me turn around. Sartorius was being pulled away by some sort of white light. I wasted no time and ran after them. Thankfully, I managed to grab the man's right hand. "Got you." I smiled. _

_He smiled back, until… The light started pulling him away with even more strength. "NO!" I screamed in panic. "Serena, help me!" The man shouted. Then, they disappeared._

_I was all alone._

* * *

Someone was shaking me by my shoulders. "What… What's going on…" I asked in confusion while slowly opening my eyes. Looking up, I could see Axel still shaking me. I must have fallen asleep yet again… He was looking at me with a frown. "If you don't hurry up, you'll be late for your detention." He reminded.

My eyes widened in surprise. Oh, yes! I still had that stupid detention after all! "Thanks, Axel." I said and quickly got on my feet. I started running away from the cliff. "I owe you one!" I shouted to the guy over my shoulder.

* * *

By the time I was in front of the building, I had about five minutes left. My thoughts went back to the dream I had. For some reason, both Sarina and Sartorius wanted me to help them while some white light was pulling them away… I didn't understand it. Why would they want me to help? And why was _light_ supposed to be dangerous? It was light, it represented good, and good always won in fairytales after all!

Nonetheless, I still couldn't shake off the feeling of concern. I had a bad feeling about this, and I was worried for them… Even though I had every right not to be. They're avoiding me after all… So why was I worried about this?!

"Congratulations, Serena. Another way to worry about people who don't deserve it." I growled but took out the phone. I didn't give a damn about Sarina's 'not calling' statement… I was going to call them only so I could have my conscience clear.

I dialed Sartorius' phone number and put the phone against my right ear. _"Yes?" _He answered soon after. "Sartorius, is everything alright?" I asked warily. _"Who's on the line?" _The man asked slowly. I couldn't believe what I just heard. First, he was avoiding me for some damn reason, and now he was pretending that he didn't know me?! Who was the crazy one here?!

"It's me, Serena." I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance. _"Serena who?" _"Serena Accardi." I growled. _"And why did you call me?" _Sartorius asked slowly. "I called you so I could see if you and Sarina were alright." I said simply. _"Yes… Everything is perfectly fine…" _He trailed off. I could have sworn I've heard some sort of amusement in his voice. And then, a dead line.

I was staring at the phone in confusion yet again. Why he just hung up like that was beyond me… Nor did I have time to think about it. The snake was waiting!

* * *

"Good to see you're at least on time, Miss Accardi." Professor Viper noted icily once I entered the classroom. As much as I wanted to say something to that remark, I opted not to. I didn't want to piss the snake off any further. Instead, I simply nodded.

He then motioned for me to come to the front of his desk. There was a chair. "Sit." He ordered. I did so without another word. The man stood up. "Miss Accardi," He started walking around me in a circle. "I've decided what your punishment will be." "And that is?" I raised an eyebrow. He looked at me. "A duel with me."

I was gaping at him. No, no, no and _no_! I didn't want to duel! Was he insane?! "I won't duel." I spoke up firmly. The man's eyes didn't look away from me. "I believe I have to remind you something." "And that is?" I raised an eyebrow. "You've come to this place so you could become the best duelist you can be. Actions speak louder than words. If you refuse to duel, that means you don't want to be here," _'Damn right, I __**don't**__.' _I thought angrily. "Which means I can expel you." He finished.

Wait, wait, wait… He was serious?! My eyes widened even more. "Wait, so if I refuse to duel, you'll expel me?!" I wanted to clear this up. "In other words, you have no choice." The snake smirked. "You can't do that!" I shouted at him. "Either you duel, or you're out." He ignored my words.

I stayed quiet. This would be a perfect chance for me to get out of this stupid place… But then my parents would be furious with me. It meant they would force me into another school, and hell would start over and over again. I was doomed to this place in one way or another… Except that my expulsion would make them even more furious. My dislike for the man grew even more. He was forcing me into something I didn't like for whatever damn reason he had, and he threatened to expel me if I didn't comply… Where was the principal in all of this?!

"Fine, I'll duel." I growled, taking my deck out of the box around my waist. Professor Viper threw me a Duel Disk which I caught with ease. I put the deck into the disk and walked to the small field in the classroom. When he was on the other side of it, he activated his vest version of Duel Disk while I activated mine. "Game on." We chorused. I touched the bracelet on my left wrist. _'Bring me some luck, because I'm sure as hell going to need it.' _I thought.

**Professor Viper: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"Whose turn is first?" I asked. "Yours." The man replied. "Fine." I muttered and drew a sixth card. Looking at all of the cards in my hand, I wondered how to start my turn. After a few moments of looking at them, I had some sort of idea.

I looked up. "First, I'll summon Ocean Bacteria in Defense Mode." I put the card in its slot. The bacteria appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1200/500)**. "I'll set a facedown and end my turn." I finished by setting a facedown.

Professor Viper drew a card. "I'll summon Venom Snake in Attack Mode." My eyes widened once a giant, dark snake with yellow stripes appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1200/600)**. What was the thing with him and those snakes?! Even his last name was freaking Viper!

"Once per turn, it's able to attack your monster directly with its venom." He said seriously. What?! The snake threw something out of its mouth. It formed into some sort of a green, liquid snake. The snake tied itself around bacteria, biting it in process. I looked at it with a frown. I had no idea what the thing was with the stupid venom… But I knew it wasn't good. "I end my turn."

I drew another card. Seeing there was his snake, I knew what to do. "I'm summoning Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode." The wolf appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:800/1500)**. "Now, his Special Effect is that he can attack you directly." I smirked. "Go, attack his Life Points!" I told the wolf which let out a howl. It raced towards Viper and slashed at him with its claws.

**Professor Viper: 3200 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

I couldn't help feeling pleased. I just had to keep my Mountain Wolf at the field, and the victory would be mine if everything went as I planned. It may take a few turns until the wolf took all of his points, but it was certain! "That's it." I declared.

"I'll summon Venom Boa in Attack Mode." Professor Viper said. Another giant snake appeared (**ATK/DEF:1600/1200)**. "As long as it's on field, it can inflict your monster with two venoms per turn." "Not if I activate 'Rapid Evolution'!" I pointed out, activating my facedown. "Venom is a Special Effect, not an attack, which is why your trap is wasted." The man replied nonchalantly.

My eyes widened as the card disappeared from the field. It was one of the best cards in the deck… And I just had to use it the wrong way! What was I thinking?!

Those two snakes tied themselves around the wolf's legs. "Then I activate a Field Spell 'Venom Swamp'," The man continued while putting the card in its proper slot. The scenery changed into what seemed to be murky swamp. The bottom had this awful dirty red color… I was serious, even the Slifer dorm looked better!

"Once this card is in effect, another venom appears on each of your monsters," Viper started while one snake tied itself around my bacteria and another one around my wolf's third leg. "And each one loses 500 Attack Points for each venom!"

I let out a laugh. "My bacteria's in Defense Mode in case you forgot." I reminded. "It doesn't matter, it will still lose Attack Points!" The man smiled smugly. "What?!" My eyes widened as three venoms bit the wolf by its legs. The legs darkened, and the wolf let out a howl of pain before it was destroyed. I quickly covered my eyes because of the gust of wind which appeared. I then checked my gear. The wolf's destruction definitely cost me some points.

**Professor Viper: 3200 LP**

**Me: 3200 LP**

My bacteria were no better. It was down to 200 points… "I'll set a facedown. My turn is over." The man said. I drew another card. Judging by those cards, I stood no chance against him… Those stupid snakes… It meant I had to fight snakes with snakes. I only prayed my cobra was somewhere near being drawn…

"I'll summon Forest Fungus in Attack Mode." I put the card in its slot. A giant, brown fungus with eyes appeared on my side of the field (**ATK/DEF:500/800)**. "Thanks to its Special Effect, it can absorb one of your monster's attack points… And I choose your Boa!" I pointed to the second snake.

The fungus flew over to the snake. Suddenly, hands came out of it before they tied themselves around the reptile. It hissed as glowing, green light appeared. "And it can either use them or give them to me!" I added. "In this case, it will absorb them itself." Even more green light appeared around both of the monsters. The fungus' Attack Points grew to 2100, while the snake's fell to zero.

"Fungus, attack his other snake!" The monster flew to another snake and grabbed it with its small hands, before strangling it. The snake was destroyed, costing the man some Life Points.

**Professor Viper: 2000 LP**

**Me: 3200 LP**

I sighed in relief. His points were down to a half… Only another half left. "I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." I finished by setting two cards in facedown slot. They appeared on the field.

"By destroying my snake, you activated a trap 'Snake Whistle'." The man declared as the facedown revealed itself. "It allows me to summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my deck… I'll summon Venom Serpent in Attack Mode!" A serpent with two heads appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1000/800)**. "  
Thanks to its effect, another venom can bite one of your monsters… And thanks to the 'Venom Swamp', one of them attacks both of your monsters!"

A Venom Counter tied itself around my bacteria and bit into it, destroying it in process. "Now that you've destroyed my bacteria, two smaller ones appear in its place!" I shouted after the wind cleared. Two bacteria appeared with **ATK/DEF:600/500 **each. "Your fungus hasn't been bitten yet." He reminded with a smug smile.

I frowned. There was something scary and sinister about that man… I couldn't put my finger on it… What I knew was he was someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

Two Venom Counters bit into my fungus. It lost 1000 points, falling to 1100. The worst thing was, I could see the effects of the venom on the monster… It was horrible.

"Now I'll have my Venom Serpent attack your fungus." The reptile attacked one of them, destroying it. I covered my face from the huge gust of wind. "I end my turn." I checked my gear. My points were down to 2100…

**Professor Viper: 2000 LP**

**Me: 2100 LP**

I drew another card. Looking at it, I couldn't help smiling. It was one of my favorite animals… "I'll summon Desert Fox in Attack Mode." I put it in the card slot. A small, white and yellow fox with huge ears appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**.

"Now, attack his Venom Serpent!" I told the fox. It slashed its claws at the serpent, destroying it in process. Gust of wind appeared, the man's points dropping.

**Professor Viper: 1000 LP**

**Me: 2100 LP**

"I'll end my turn." I finished. Professor Viper drew another card. "I'll summon Venom Serpent in Attack Mode." Another snake appeared, with same points as the previous one. I resisted the urge to groan. How many snakes did he have in that deck?! "As you've already learned, venom attacks one of your monsters, and I choose bacteria. It also attacks each of them!"

My bacteria was destroyed by now. Other bacteria was still there , and the fox had only 1300 points. I growled. "Now, Venom Serpent will attack Desert Fox!" Just as it was about to attack my fox… "I activate my facedown 'Flowing Back'!" I cried, revealing my Trap Card. "It negates your attack, and you lose the number of Life Points equal to my fox's Attack Points."

Orange light appeared around the man, costing him more Life Points. "But I activate my Spell 'Quick Saving', it gives me 800 Life Points for each monster on the field, and you lose 800 points as well!" He declared smugly. I growled. I had him there, if only he hadn't activated that card…

**Professor Viper: 500 LP**

**Me: 1300 LP**

I was about to draw another card when I could hear door opening. Another professor raced inside. "Sorry for interrupting you Thelonious, but there's a major crisis!" He exclaimed. "It can't wait?" Viper narrowed his eyes. "No!" "Fine." He deactivated his Duel Vest, Disk, or whatever it was already. I did so as well. All of the monsters disappeared, so did facedown cards.

"You're dismissed. If I see you not paying attention again, it will be even worse..." He glared at me. I simply nodded while pulling cards out of my disk and putting all of them in my Deck Box. Viper and the other man then walked out. I sighed in relief and looked down at my bracelet. That was luck right there… Thanks to both this thing and the other professor!

I didn't care about the outcome of this duel either. As far as I was concerned, it was over. Now, if only that crazy snake left me alone, surviving this hell could be possible…

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. "Hello?" I answered the call. _"Cousin, long time no see!" _Ben greeted over the line. "Ben!" I greeted excitedly. Finally, something good today! I haven't heard from him for a while!

"_How's it going at the West Academy?" _He asked. I frowned. "There's this professor who made me duel him for detention. He's obsessed with snakes, even his last name is Viper." I pointed out in annoyance. As soon as he heard those words, my cousin started laughing. _"Gee, he sounds even worse than Crowler." _

My eyebrows furrowed. Who in the world was Crowler?! "Who's that?" I demanded. _"A professor here at the Academy." _"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. _"Have you made any friends there?" _"No. I do talk with a guy named Axel from time to time though." I replied, sitting on a nearby table._ "I met some awesome people here." _"Like?" I asked. I didn't really care about who he had met. However, I didn't want to sound rude, especially since it's been a while since we talked to each other.

"_A guy named Bastion, then this girl Alexis, and guys like Syrus, Jad…" _I wasn't listening to him anymore. "Great." I said simply. _"I really like it here! What do you think about your school?" _"Honestly, Ben, it's hell in here. Only the food, the forest, and maybe that guy Axel are good things about this place. That Viper man is creepy, and I'm afraid he'll be at it with me again. I wish I didn't have to go here…" I trailed off with a sigh.

It was quiet for a few moments. _"What if you transferred here? You wouldn't have to see him, I'd be here as well, and you would still attend the Academy." _My eyes widened in surprise. Did I hear that correctly?! "Wait, so you can transfer between schools?!" I asked him. _"Yes. But for your school, it's necessary that you finish your first year." _I let out a groan.

"But it will take a while for that!" _"Sorry, but I don't know what else to tell you." _I sighed. Attending the same school with Ben would definitely make things easier for me… I wouldn't have to suffer all alone! "So, if I transfer to Central Academy, you and I can suffer together?" I asked with a grin. _"_**_You _**_can suffer. I like it here; I'll simply keep you company in your suffering." _Ben replied pointedly. I rolled my eyes. However, that still didn't stop the excitement about the idea of leaving this hell hole. "That's great!" I couldn't stop grinning. "But…" I trailed off. "What about my parents? They forced me in this school for a reason." I pointed out.

"_Leave that to my mum and dad. They'll talk some sense into your parents. If not, then they'll think of something." _My cousin said reassuringly. "Then it's a deal." I said happily. _"Look, I'll call you tomorrow so we can discuss this better. Jaden insists on dueling me right now, so I have to hang up."_

I rolled my eyes yet again. "Fine, go duel the 'Jaden' guy. See you." _"See you." _He hung up and I did so as well.

**Third Person's POV**

The man was looking at cards sprawled all over his table. He wasn't exactly sure what the cards were telling him at the moment… Yet what happened was so unexpected. He didn't expect for a girl to call him on the phone… What was even weirder was that he was apparently supposed to know her.

His purple eyes looked over the cards he was shuffling. Finally, he took one in his right hand. It showed a young woman dressed in a white, black and red dress with flowers in her hands… "The Lady with flowers…" He trailed off, his eyes filled with interest, and a bit of confusion.

Walking over to a nearby shelf, he could see some pictures on it. He took one. A young girl, about 7 years old was laughing at the camera while waving with her hand. Her red hair was messy, and her blue eyes were looking right at the person taking the picture.

"_Serena, stop moving!" The man scolded while trying to take the picture of the girl. "But why? Chasing grasshoppers is so fun!" She exclaimed excitedly and started waving at him while laughing. She then ran after another grasshopper._

The man stopped for a moment. That memory came out of nowhere, but, this time, he knew why memories were coming back.

Another picture showed the same girl, except that she was older. This time, she was in between the man and a woman. All of them were smiling at the camera.

"_About time I got to have a proper picture with both of you." The 13-year-old girl smiled._

The man kept looking at the picture. There was something about that girl he couldn't figure out. But now he definitely knew who she was, and how he knew her. Destiny certainly had things for her in store… "Serena Accardi…" The man repeated the name with a smug smile while looking at the girl's smiling face.

**Serena's POV**

"How did the detention with Viper go?" Axel asked once I joined him by the cliff later that night. "Pretty good, I have to say." I smirked and put arms behind my back. "Next time, do pay attention or it will happen again." He reminded with a frown.

I punched his left arm playfully. "Oh, please! You know he punished me because he hates everyone, he just keeps looking for random reasons!" I smirked. "If you say so." The guy rolled his eyes. I didn't stop smirking.

My eyes then wandered over to the full moon. It was a beautiful night… However, I still couldn't shake off the bad feeling I had. It was as if something bad had happened… But I didn't know what, when, nor how.

Maybe I was being paranoid. Maybe I was just searching for a reason for this year to pass quickly so I could get to be with Ben at the Central Academy… I was really looking forward to that. I missed some company. Axel was a good guy, but without Ben, Sarina, Sartorius, or my aunt, it just wasn't the same.

I knew things would get better. I just had to wait for it…

**Well, that's it for today! Things should get real soon… But I hope you liked the little duel Serena and Viper had. I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	7. Jaden Yuki

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked the duel! :)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) I'm not particularly fond of Viper's deck either lol. Now, about whether that experience would affect Serena or not… Not in this case. Serena doesn't care about dueling at all, nor does she care about what Viper thinks about dueling in general. What she only wants is to duel the least possible, and get out of the academy, which is why her way of dueling won't change… For now, anyway. What she wants is to hear the least about it, if possible. :)**

**Well, guys, this chapter features quite a time jump. Previous chapters were some sort of prologue and setup for future events. It's from this chapter that the story really begins, and I just can't wait! :)**

**Also, a note; this chapter is loosely based on the episode 'Back To Duel'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"Serena, are you done packing?" Aunt Maria shouted from the hallway. "Almost!" I shouted back while grabbing my herbarium and throwing it into my suitcase. I then put in some other things and closed the suitcase.

At that moment, I could hear door opening. I quickly turned around to see my aunt walking into the room. She was carrying something in her hands. "I just wanted to give you this." She offered the object to me with a smile. I had no idea what that was supposed to be…

I took it slowly, my eyebrows furrowing. "What's that?" I looked up at my aunt peplexed. "I found it at the attic just now." She said simply, still smiling. I raised an eyebrow. Why did this thing make her so happy all of a sudden?

Nonetheless, I sat down and opened what seemed to be a book. However, it wasn't a book at all. My eyes widened once I turned the first page. It was an album! It had a lot of pictures… My eyes landed on a first one on the left.

Three people were in it, which I recognized immediately. Those were my aunt, Sarina and Sartorius… They were sitting by one table and smiling at the camera. "When was this taken?" I lifted up the picture so she could see.

"Oh, that was taken about a year after I had met them." Aunt Maria replied while sitting next to me. I simply nodded, putting the picture back in the album. My eyes landed on the next one. Sartorius and Sarina were dressed in more formal versions of their usual outfits. The former had a baby in his hands, while the latter was playing with the baby. A grin was on her face. The man, on the other hand, was looking at the newborn with a small smile.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Aunt, what about this one?" I asked her and lifted up the picture. "That was taken after your christening." She explained, making my eyes widen. I looked at the picture once more. If this was taken after my christening, then that meant… "Is that me?" I pointed at the baby. "Si." She smiled.

"I remember that day like it was yesterday." She then sighed. "Could you tell me more about it?" I asked her pleadingly. Honestly, I had no idea what came over me. I didn't know why I wanted to hear more about this, especially since Sarina and Sartorius made it clear they wanted me out of their lives by not calling me anymore…

Aunt Maria's gaze landed on me. "Your parents invited me and Luca to your christening while I was still pregnant with Ben," She started explaining. "Since I was always in touch with Sartorius and Sarina, I asked them if they wanted to come with us. I was so happy about your birth, and I wanted them to meet you too." I frowned, but paid attention to every word she said.

"Both of them were a bit hesitant at first. Sarina soon agreed, and Sartorius not long after. This was taken when your parents agreed to let them hold you." Aunt reminisced with a small smile. "Sarina immediately warmed up to you. Sartorius, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant. However, it changed when he took you in his arms."

I looked up at her, away from my hands. "Really?" I asked. "Yes, really. The moment you grinned at him; he became a lot more comfortable with holding you. You had all of us wrapped around your finger. You were always so happy, even with people who weren't your mother and father. None of us could resist your toothless grin." She smiled at me.

I didn't know what to say at those words. Instead, I looked at the picture in my left hand. From what I could see, both Sartorius and Sarina looked happy in it… But then I remembered what happened nearly a year ago. Pursing my lips, I looked away from the picture with a huff. This thing was taken when I was a baby after all! Lots of things changed since then… They obviously hated me.

"What's wrong?" Aunt Maria asked, apparently noticing my expression. "Aunt Maria, have you heard from Sarina and Sartorius lately?" I asked slowly. She frowned at hearing my words. "Now that you mention it… No. I've called them so many times, and they never answered it." She folded her arms with a sigh.

I let out a laugh of disbelief. "So they must hate you too then." "What was that?" Her light brown eyes looked at me, filled with confusion. "They haven't called me either. I called Sarina, but she told me not to call them anymore, so we did something to make them hate us." I frowned.

My aunt was looking at me as if I were crazy. "No, we _didn't_." She shook her head. "Yes, they are." I replied nonchalantly. "Serena, I think I'd know if I did something bad to my closest friends. I've known them for 16 years." She said firmly with determination in her eyes. "Well, maybe you didn't. Maybe it was me who did something." I pointed out in annoyance.

By now, Aunt Maria was glaring at me. "Serena Accardi, you're crazy." She declared, making me glare back. That was so rude of her to say! "Ever since they've seen you, Sarina, and especially Sartorius looked after you as if you were one of their own. And that says a lot since they're not close to so many people."

I frowned yet again. As if I were one of their own, she said? "Well, they sure have a funny way of showing it." I pointed out bitterly. Aunt let out a sigh. "I really don't know why they're not answering our calls… Either they must have a really good reason, or they're in trouble." She stated. I stayed quiet, wanting to change the subject.

"What about this picture?" I pointed at the third one. Aunt Maria and I were in it. "It was taken on your seventh birthday." She explained. "Oh." That was the only thing I could say at the moment. Looking at the picture again, my eyebrows furrowed.

Both of us were waving at the camera… However, something else caught my attention. A bracelet was around my left wrist… And it looked pretty damn similar to the one I was wearing right now! Maybe Aunt knew where I got it from!

"Aunt Maria, do you see the bracelet on my left wrist?" I asked while pointing at the picture. My aunt's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes… What about it?" She asked warily. Wariness in her tone did not go unnoticed by me. "Do you maybe know how I got it in the first place?" I looked at her.

She was quiet for a few moments. "Someone gave it to you." She finally said. My eyes widened in surprise. "Who was that 'someone'?" I asked. I couldn't help it; curiosity was getting the better of me! "I think it was one of your friends. It was a gift for your birthday." She said slowly. It was strange; like she was wondering which choice of words she should use…

"What was that friend's name?" I asked. "I don't remember." She waved it off. I looked down at my bracelet. "But I don't remember any of it, much less when this picture was taken." I told her truthfully. "You were little at the time, that's why." She said simply.

Seeing she wasn't willing to talk about it; I wasn't going to push it further. Instead, I looked at the album. "I want you to bring this with you." Aunt then smiled. "Fine." I said simply. "Thanks." I then added, smiling as well.

I then put the album in my suitcase while she raced downstairs to finish the dinner.

It's been three months since I finished my first year at West Duel Academy. In fact, that was both my first and last year there. I had no idea how in the world that happened, but yes. I managed to finish freaking first year with passable grades!

Following Ben's advice, I decided to transfer to Duel Academy in Southern Japan. That way, I would get to be with him, but far away from people like Viper. After months of torture at that hell hole, I finally felt free. I wouldn't have to see the snake's ugly face anymore, or attend his stupid detentions!

Thankfully, Aunt and Uncle managed to convince my parents to transfer me there. I had no idea how they did it, but it worked! They also managed to convince Mum and Dad to let me stay with Ben and his parents in Japan during summer holidays. They had two houses, but Aunt and Uncle bought this one last summer. They did so they could spend time with Ben during holidays, and that travelling to Duel Academy would be easier.

Now, about my transfer to the academy… I was apparently in Slifer Red. Ben said that transfer students started there, and that my grades weren't exactly appropriate for Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue (not that I cared) … According to the Chancellor's standards anyway. Speaking of the Chancellor, apparently, he was just appointed this year. Ben wasn't pleased about it at all. His name was… Crowler, if I remembered correctly.

It didn't matter anyway; I would get to see him sooner or later on the island. Ben was practically in love with the school; he even had some crazy adventures last year…. Some crazy Shadow Divers (or Riders, I wasn't sure) were trying to take some sort of keys and get their hands on sacred cards…

I wasn't listening to most of his words anyway. In fact, I was surprised I even remembered this much!

However, that didn't stop Ben's excitement. He was so happy we were going to same school now… He couldn't wait to show me the island. I was just happy to be out of West Academy and with my cousin. I still wasn't keen on dueling, and I planned on avoiding it as much as possible. Just to finish that school, and then I would get the hell out of there!

However, I had to admit, I would miss Axel. I got used to his company and our usual conversations at night… But I wanted to stay in touch with him, which was why I took his phone number.

I looked at my packed suitcase. Tomorrow we would be leaving for the Academy… That's why Aunt was preparing dinner in the first place. Both Uncle Luca and Ben were still out of the house. They wouldn't be back until 8. Dinner was going to be at that time.

Folding my arms, I let out a sigh. _"Ever since they've seen you, Sarina, and especially Sartorius looked after you as if you were one of their own." _Aunt Maria's words were echoing in my head. I frowned. If that _was_ the case, then why weren't they calling me anymore?!

As much as I wanted to just forget about them, I couldn't get those words out of my head. That was when I made the decision. I was going to their house, and I was going to ask them some questions. That way my conscience would be clear if Aunt was wrong about everything.

I made my way out of the house, telling my aunt how I'd be back before 8. Another advantage of being here was that my overprotective parents couldn't forbid me from going out all alone. I truly felt free here. I wasn't at any sort of academy, and I could move freely wherever I wanted…

* * *

My eyes widened in surprise once I came to the entrance of the house. A huge board was on the door, with 'ON SALE' written all over it. This was certainly unexpected… I couldn't help feeling worried.

I decided to phone Sarina. However, I received no answer. After I tried to call Sartorius, I didn't get any answer either. I let out a sigh. They weren't answering their phones, and their house was on sale…. It was literally as if they had disappeared out of thin air…

* * *

"What you're telling us is that they just disappeared?!" Ben was gaping at me along with his mother and father. "Pretty much." I nodded with a frown. "Gee… I wonder what happened…" He sighed while playing with his fried shrimp. "Luca and I will try to find out while you two are at the Academy." Aunt Maria declared.

"I hope you'll find them." I looked up at her. I was still upset over what happened last year… But, right now, I was more upset than angry. They had pushed me away from them… But now, they were really gone. That hurt even more… Back then, I at least knew where they were, but now, absolutely nothing!

Ben looked at my empty plate. "Look who's already eaten their portion of fried shrimps…" He trailed off with a smirk. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, so what about that?" I demanded a bit offended. "I can't decide who has a bigger stomach, you, or Jaden." He pointed out in amusement.

I huffed at him. I had no idea who that so-called Jaden was… Nor did I care. "No one has a bigger stomach than me." I retorted and pushed my plate away. I then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Luca raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind, I'm going to turn in. I'm really tired." I stated. "Not at all. Go ahead." Aunt Maria encouraged. I sent her a small smile before saying 'good night' to everyone. I then made my way towards the guest room, where I was sleeping during holidays.

All of this was just too much. Even though I was happy I would get to spend time with Ben… I was still going to a place where I didn't want to be. Ben would make things easier, however, I still felt as if I were in a cage. Sartorius and Sarina's disappearances weren't helping either…

I just had to hope those two years would pass as fast as the first one…

* * *

My eyes were going over the ocean. Right now, Ben and I were in a helicopter along with some of second-year students. Even though I transferred here, this was still my second year, which was why I was with them.

However, the flight lasted too long… I just wanted to see the island already. "So… What's the uniform for girls like here?" I asked Ben. "It's similar to yours, but it doesn't have leggings. It also has fingerless gloves." He said.

I simply nodded. "You're excited to see your friends again?" I presumed. "You bet!" He grinned. "I missed them so much, even Chazz warmed up to me…" "Chazz? The idiot who shouted at you during Entrance Exams?" I raised an eyebrow. "Yup, him." Ben smiled. "But he's actually not such a bad guy. It's his two brothers that are morons."

Raising an eyebrow yet again, I didn't know what else to do apart from nod. I continued looking through the window… When my eyes widened. I could see the island!

"Cousin… Welcome to Duel Academy." Ben put a hand on my right shoulder with a smile. I didn't say anything. Instead, I kept staring at island which was closer and closer every second…

* * *

I got off the helicopter, with Ben right after me. We landed right at the top of the building… I took that as a chance to look around the island. From what I could see, it was a bit different from the West Academy. The island had a volcano, and a huge forest. There was a large schoolyard, and few constructions at locations a bit away from the main one.

Before I could say something to Ben, a woman walked up to me. She had red hair which was tied in a ponytail, and grey eyes. She was dressed in a blue uniform. "Are you Serena Accardi?" She asked me. I nodded. "Welcome to Duel Academy. My name's Fonda Fontaine. I'm head of Obelisk Blue dorm for girls, head nurse and a gym instructor."

I looked at her in surprise. Three jobs? Wow… "Chancellor Crowler told me to give your uniform since he and Vice-Chancellor Bonaparte are… On a business trip." She cleared her throat at the last part. "Now, if you could follow me…" She motioned with her hand.

"Go with her. I'll catch up with some of my friends while waiting for you." Ben told me. I bit my lower lip. If he wanted to catch up with his friends, then I knew where this was going. As soon as I appeared, he would introduce them to me. That was something I wanted to avoid. I wanted to avoid contact with people here in general. All of them would more or less talk about the same subject anyway; _Duel Monsters_. Dueling fanatics were everywhere after all…

I shook my head. "No, you don't have to. I can find the dorm myself. You go catch up with your friends." I told him with a small smile. "Are you sure?" He gave me a skeptical look. "I _insist_." I managed to muster a forced smile on my face. "But…" "Ben, just freaking go and catch up with them, we'll talk later anyway!" I reminded. "Fine." He sighed. "I'll see you later then." "See you." I waved and followed Nurse, Professor, or whatever she was already… Anyway, I followed Mrs. Fontaine downstairs and into the building.

* * *

Once we were in girls' changing room, Mrs. Fontaine gave me a red uniform. She also gave me their version of PDA and Duel Disk. After she had left, I decided to look at the uniform better. It really was similar to the one from the West Academy… The only difference were the skirt's length, lack of leggings, fingerless gloves, and shorter boots.

I immediately frowned at the skirt. No way in hell was I going to wear that thing… It was too short for my liking! I decided to keep my skirt and leggings. I then changed into a dark blue, v-neck, sleeveless shirt, the same, sleeveless, red and white jacket from before. I put on shorter, red boots, and then red, fingerless gloves on my arms. Thankfully, I put the glove over my bracelet with ease… I decided to keep my jacket unbuttoned.

After checking to see whether I had everything I needed, I headed outside.

* * *

"Excuse me, do you know by any chance where the Slifer Red dorm is?" I asked a random Ra Yellow student. "By the beach. You won't miss it." He pointed his finger in the direction where I was supposed to go. "Thanks." I told him and started walking away from the main building.

* * *

Slifer Red dorm was… Quite _interesting_. It definitely wasn't a shed, but that didn't mean it was better. It reminded me of an outhouse with a deck… Even the roof at West Academy looked better than this one! However, from what I could see, it had a nice ocean view.

Just as I was about to walk to the cliff and check out the view, I could see some people there. There were two guys, a girl, and a woman who was sitting on the ground. Thankfully, all of their backs were turned.

I let out a silent groan. As much as I wanted to see the view, it would have to wait. I didn't want to socialize with dueling fanatics. Instead, I decided to head to my room. It was number 7… I climbed up the stairs and opened the door.

Once I walked inside, I could see a huge bed, a table with a chair, bathroom, and a wardrobe. The room was quite small. A smile appeared on my face. It may have been small, but, just like last time, I didn't have annoying roommates!

After dropping my suitcase and backpack, I pulled away the curtains. Light came into the room. Window was looking right at the ocean! An even bigger smile appeared on my face. I may have been in hell, but this one had more positive energy than the previous one. It had volcano, forest, beautiful ocean view… And I had my cousin here with me. What more could you possibly get?!

Sun was setting by now. It looked so nice from here… Seeing there was still time until dinner, I decided to take a walk outside. It would definitely clear my thoughts with fresh air…

* * *

I was walking around the place near Slifer Dorm. Ben was probably still catching up with his friends, and I definitely wasn't going to interrupt him. I preferred being alone… Letting out a yawn, I stretched out my arms.

Suddenly, I could have sworn I've seen something shining in my Deck Box. My eyes widened in surprise. What in the world was that white glow?! I quickly took out the deck to see what it was, but… There was none of it. My eyebrows furrowed. Were my eyes playing tricks with me?! I could have sworn I've seen something glowing in the box…

I frowned at the cards but I decided to put them back. This was really weird… However, just as I was about to put last few cards inside, wind started blowing strongly. "No!" I shouted as it blew cards out of my hands.

I quickly closed the box. "Get back here!" I shouted and started running after the cards which were being blown away. Aunt was going to kill me if I lost them… I was going to kill myself too. Aunt trusted me when she gave me that deck!

Wind was blowing them towards a nearby cliff. "No!" I cried and started running even faster. I was just about to grab the cards… When two hands grabbed them instead, and I ended up crashing my head with someone else's, my body hitting theirs in process.

"OW!" I cried in pain as I landed on the ground with my front part. I was practically lying on the ground. "That hurts…" I trailed off with my eyes closed while rubbing my head where I had hit it. It hurt like hell…

"Are you alright?" A male voice asked me. I opened my eyes in surprise and looked up to see… A guy. A guy who looked to be about my age. He had this weird, messy hair. Its bigger, lower part was dark brown. The smaller, upper part was light brown. He had those big, chocolate brown eyes, and right now, they were looking at me in worry. The guy was dressed in a black shirt, red, unbuttoned blazer with some white parts on it, white pants, and red shoes.

I looked at him from head to toe again. My eyes then landed on the right hand he was offering me. Yet I couldn't deny he looked familiar from somewhere… WAIT. I knew who this guy was! Only one person I had met had that weird hair…

"You…" I trailed off in shock, my eyes widening even more with every second. "What?" The guy tilted his head to right in confusion. "YOU!" I shouted in realization. He was that guy from the shop, the one who didn't bother to watch where he was going!

The guy seemed to be even more confused. "What's with me…" "I know who you are!" I exclaimed and quickly got to my feet while still gaping at him. He started laughing. "Ah, yes, I'm one of top duelists around here…" He smiled sheepishly and started rubbing the back of his head.

"No, _not that_! You're the idiot who hit me in the card shop a year ago!" I exclaimed angrily. The guy's eyes widened in surprise. "Idiot? That's kind of rude, you know…" He pointed out with a frown. But then, his eyes widened yet again. "Wait… You're the crazy girl from that shop?!" He asked, his mouth wide open.

My blood boiled once he said those words. He called me CRAZY?! "I'M CRAZY TO YOU?! YOU WERE RIGHT BEHIND ME!" I roared, getting angrier with every second. How dare he call me crazy?! My eyes then landed on what he was holding in his left hand. Those were my cards…

"What were you doing with my cards?!" I demanded with a glare. "Whoa, calm down, man," The guy lifted his hands up in defense with a panicked expression on his face. "I saw you were chasing those cards, and I just wanted to help you…" "By bumping into me yet again?" I glared. "Look, I'm sorry for that shop thing, alright?!" The guy finally exclaimed. "But this time, you bumped right into me!"

I glared at him yet again. "Look, please just calm down, you're kind of scary when you're mad…" He pleaded. He seemed to be genuinely scared… Good. Served that idiot right! Except that… He had just apologized for bumping into me…

Suddenly, for some reason, I was feeling bad. I was feeling bad for being so mean to this guy. True, he had bumped into me back then, but now he apologized… And he was kind of right, this time it was me who didn't watch where I was going. I was too focused on not losing those cards…

I let out a sigh to calm down. However, I still frowned. "Sorry." I finally said. "What?" The guy blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry for shouting at you like that. You had just apologized to me, and I still kept shouting at you, and I definitely overreacted back then…" I was rambling.

"Whoa, slow down. It's alright." The guy grinned. He then waved with his left hand. "I managed to save your cards after all!" "I appreciate that." I said simply. "Here you go." He gave them to me. "Thank you." I said, trying not to give any emotion. "It's nothing, I know what it's like when you nearly lose your cards…" He smiled.

"It's not about that. I was afraid of losing them only because my aunt gave them to me." I frowned. "But also because they're your cards." The guy pointed out in confusion. "If I could choose, I wouldn't play with them at all." I huffed.

His eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Wait… You're telling me you don't like playing _Duel Monsters_?!" He demanded in what seemed to be surprise. I couldn't help smirking. His reaction was quite amusing… What else to expect from dueling fanatics? "Oh, it's not that. I _hate_ them." I replied nonchalantly, but not bothering to hide my smirk.

The guy's brown eyes were even wider, if that was possible. "_You_ _hate_ _Duel Monsters?!" _He asked incredulously. He then stopped for a moment. "No offense, but… Are you insane?!" I glared at him at hearing those words. "I have the same question for you." I retorted in annoyance. "I mean, what, seriously, what's the point in playing them?! Even adults do that, and everyone has better things to do…"

"It's because it's fun." The guy cut me off with a smile on his face. "_Fun_?" I looked up, my light blue eyes looking right into his chocolate brown ones. "Yes. They're fun." His smile became even bigger. I was just about to find a good response to that 'fun' nonsense…

But, for some reason, I couldn't. Instead, I kept looking into those brown eyes which were a few metres away from me. They held this naïve spark, but they were also filled with happiness…. There was something about those eyes that couldn't make me look away from them… It was quiet, and his eyes were looking right into mine…

"JAY!" Another male voice shouted, making us look away from each other. We turned around towards the source of the voice. It was a rather short guy, who had aqua blue hair, and grey eyes under a pair of glasses. He was dressed in the same uniform as the guy, except that his blazer was buttoned and he had yellow shirt underneath.

A few other people were with him, two guys and a girl. One guy had wild, black hair, and black eyes. He was dressed in a black shirt, black pants with a black belt, matching black shoes and a huge, black jacket. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That definitely didn't look like the Academy uniform…

The second guy had angular face. His black hair was slicked back, and he had gray eyes. He was dressed in a yellow, buttoned blazer with green shirt underneath, black pants and yellow shoes. The girl was in between the three guys. She was dressed in a blue variant of girl uniform, with fingerless gloves, white-blue jacket, short, blue, skirt and blue boots. Her eyes were hazel, and she had long, dark blond hair.

All four of them were away from us, yet I could still see them well from where we were. The guy's gaze returned to me. "Those are my friends." He said sheepishly. "Oh," He then exclaimed in surprise. "I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Jaden Yuki." He offered me a hand with a smile. "I'm Serena Accardi." I shook it with a small smile. His own one became even bigger.

"Accardi? Are you French, or something?" He raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes. "As a matter of fact, I'm Italian." I corrected him with a frown. I hated when people confused anything French with Italian… "Oh, sorry." He apologized sheepishly. "Forget it." I waved it off.

My eyes widened for a few moments. Wait a second… Jaden… Why did that name sound so familiar? My thoughts began racing while I was trying to remember where I had heard that name before… Then I remembered. Ben _did_ mention dueling someone named Jaden last year…

"Is something wrong?" A voice brought me back to reality. I looked up to see the gu… _Jaden_. "Nothing, I just remembered where I had heard your name before. My cousin mentioned you a few times." I finally said. "Your cousin?" He asked curiously. "Benjamin Accardi." I quickly said.

Jaden looked at me, surprise on his face evident. "Ben is your cousin?" I nodded. "Sweet!" He smiled. "We've talked a while ago, right after I had finished my duel with Aster Phoenix." He explained. Wait… Aster Phoenix? Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Did he say anything about where he was going?" I asked. "Now that I think of it…" The guy put a finger on his chin. "He _did_ say something about having to check on someone…" "Me, most probably." I presumed. "I think so too." He agreed. "Are you a freshman?" He suddenly asked. I shook my head. "No. I transferred to second year from West Duel Academy." I explained. The guy opened his mouth to say something, when...

"JAY!" The short guy shouted yet again, making us look at them yet again. "I'm coming in a moment, Sy!" Jaden shouted back to the short guy. "Those are my friends." He explained. "I presumed." I answered dryly. "Want me to introduce you to them?" He suggested with a smile on his face.

And socializing was exactly what I wanted to avoid… "Maybe next time," I started politely. "I need to go looking for Ben." "Oh, alright then." The guy responded. It sounded like he was a bit disappointed, but that was most probably my imagination. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Jaden Yuki, but I've got to get going." I tried to muster a polite smile.

"It was nice meeting you too, Serena." Jaden grinned. "I hope to see you around!" He then added excitedly. This guy was quite energetic, and optimistic and all, and I appreciated it… What I didn't appreciate was his love for stupid dueling. And it sounded like his love for it was _big_. Hopefully we wouldn't see each other around so often…

"Well, we will see each other around, considering we're in the same dorm." I said politely, pointing at his red blazer. "Oh, yes…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, see you around… I guess?" I waved with a small smile. "See you!" He waved back enthusiastically.

I then started walking away from Jaden, just as his friends ran to him.

Looking at the sun which was setting, I smiled. I then put the cards Jaden had saved back in my Deck Box. I didn't know why, but something told me this year was going to be more interesting, and more exciting than the previous one…

**Well… There you have it! Serena finally goes to Duel Academy. She meets Jaden, and briefly sees Syrus, Bastion, Alexis and Chazz. Finally, the story begins! I just can't wait for upcoming chapters! I hope you liked the chapter and until next time! :)**


	8. Getting 'Acquainted'

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) Hahaha, of course Serena would refuse to hang out with 'dueling fanatics', that's why she's avoiding contact with people at the Academy in general… ;) And thanks, I appreciate those words! :)**

**The Black Knight: Thank you, I appreciate both your words and advice. :)**

**Before continuing with the chapter, I just want to make something about my story clear. Yes, this story is set during GX canon. I've put characters on the front page that I did for a reason. Everything I've written in the description there is for a reason. I've even stated that this is my take on the show. It will follow things in it, but with my take and twists on them. It's my story, my rules. Therefore, if you don't like these kinds of stories, you can go and click the 'back' button because this thing is not for you then.**

**Hope that clears it up.**

**I only own my OC's!**

By the time I was in front of the Slifer Red dorm, Ben was waiting for me there. He was dressed in his Obelisk Blue uniform, which consisted of a long, dark blue blazer with white lines, black pants, grey sneakers, and a grey shirt beneath the blazer. I blinked in surprise. I never heard in which dorm he was… Seeing him in elite dorm was a bit surprising.

"Wait, you've been in Obelisk Blue all this time?" I finally asked when I walked up to my cousin. He rolled his eyes. "Buona sera to you too, cuzz." He replied sarcastically while folding his arms. It was my turn to do an eyeroll. "_Buona sera_, Benjamin." I finally said, earning a smirk from him.

Suddenly, he lifted up his right hand and started ruffling my hair. "Hey!" I objected and tried to stop him to no avail. His hand kept going through my hair on purpose. "Just because you're the taller one, that doesn't give you right to do this!" I shouted. "Oh, yes it does!" Ben retorted playfully and kept ruffling it even more.

By now, hair was all over my face. "Happy now?" I asked with a glare. "_Very_." He answered with a smirk. "To answer your previous question, no. I started here as Ra Yellow. I've just been promoted to Obelisk Blue." He then said, with obvious pride in his voice.

"So you're stuck with elite gang?" I asked unimpressed. "Not all of them are such idiots, you know." Ben pointed out. "Like?" I demanded. "Alexis is quite nice, and Zane was good." I raised an eyebrow, obviously not knowing who he was talking about. "Who are…" I started, but then closed my mouth. "You know what? I do _not _need to know."

That earned me a huff from my cousin. "Suit yourself. Anyway, where have you been?" I looked at him for a moment, wondering whether I should tell him about my encounter with the guy fanatic. Why was I even calling him that? Apart from his obsession with stupid dueling, that Jaden guy actually looked like a nice person… I think the 'obsession' part pretty much explained it. However, I still found it a bit too harsh.

He saved my cards from falling into the ocean, and he apologized to me… The least I could do was not call him rude names. "Has cat got your tongue?" Ben demanded with a raised eyebrow, seeing I was quiet. I bit my lower lip. If him and Jaden were really friends, then my cousin would find out about our encounter anyway. Therefore, I could tell him.

"I was walking around the dorm when the wind blew some cards out my deck," I started. I decided to avoid mentioning strange light I had seen. It would sound pretty weird after all. "So I tried to catch them. Then I ran into your friend Jaden Yuki. He saved my cards and gave them back to me." I said simply.

A smile appeared on Ben's face. "Ah, so you've finally met Jay?" A huge grin appeared on his face. I nodded. "What do you think?" I gave him a perplexed look. "I'm afraid I don't understand." I replied truthfully. "What's your opinion about him?" My cousin elaborated with a smile.

I frowned for a moment. Again, Jaden wasn't so bad if we didn't count his obsession with dueling… But I knew what would happen if I said this. Ben would be happy, and try to introduce me to the rest of his friends. Then they would talk about dueling, and I wouldn't even survive my first night here. I _didn't _want that.

"He's obsessed with dueling, which can be annoying." I pointed out the truth. Ben let out a sigh. "If you say so." He then smiled. "What do you think about Slifer Red dorm?" "Apart from it looking like an outhouse with a deck, it's fine. I have a whole room to myself." I said simply. "Well, you're the only girl in Slifer Red, that's why." He pointed out.

I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. An only girl, he said? I had no idea, because West Duel Academy had a lot of girls in Slifer Red there… That's why this was rather surprising. However, again, that meant I wouldn't run into annoying girls…

My eyes widened once I realized what it meant. There weren't girls, sure… But then I'd be stuck with all the _guys_! Jaden and his little buddy were in Slifer too! "Mamma mia…" I sweat dropped. "What is it?" Ben demanded impatiently. "Apart from the fact I'm stuck with all the guys in the dorm, everything is totally fine!" I responded in annoyance.

"I know a few guys from Slifer Red who are actually nice people," Ben started, making me roll my eyes. Here we go again… "Like Jaden, Syrus and Chazz!" He finished. "Fine." I sighed. That was when his eyes widened. "Speaking of those three… There they are!" He pointed behind my back. WHAT?!

I quickly turned around in panic to see he was indeed right. Jaden, and other two guys from before (the short one and the one in black) were slowly walking towards the Slifer dorm… "Well, thanks Ben, I'll see you later…" I started with a forced smile, already thinking of a way to avoid socializing with those guys. However, Ben suddenly caught me by my right wrist.

"Ben, what are you doing?!" I hissed at him. "Hey Jay, Chazz, Sy!" He shouted over to them. "Let go of me _right now_." I told my cousin threateningly. However, he only kept smiling, and of course, ignoring me.

Finally, I managed to break free from my cousin's grip. I made a run towards my room. As soon as I was inside, I slammed the door behind me. I then let out a breath and leaned against the door with a smile. That was close… Sun has already set by now. Judging by talking outside my room, I could guess it was time for welcoming dinner.

Suddenly, I could feel my stomach growling. About damn time too, since I was starving…

* * *

I followed other Slifer Red students (guys, if we wanted to be more technical) through middle door at the upper floor. They appeared to be bigger than all other ones. I took that moment to look around the place.

It was a rather narrow room with a lot of tables, benches, and yellow walls… Plates were already at the table. I raced to the furthest bench in the bench, right next to a corner. After sitting down, I looked down at one of the plates. They had fried shrimps with rice tonight…

I grinned. Sure, I preferred fried calamari and fried octopus over shrimps, but this wasn't bad either… Especially when you were hungry. I waited a few minutes for everyone to sit inside, kind of expecting for a professor to come in and start his speech. However, there was none of that. Instead, everyone started eating their dinner.

Shrugging my shoulders, I grinned and grabbed my sticks. The sooner we started eating, the better! Just as I was about to grab one shrimp with the sticks, I could see someone walking up to a bench across me. I raised an eyebrow and looked up to see… Jaden. He sat on the bench. "Hey." He greeted with a smile.

I stayed quiet for a few moments, wondering what to say at his greeting. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling annoyed. Who asked him to come and sit here?! I was completely fine by myself! However, I didn't want to end up rude, considering he hadn't even started talking about _that_ _subject_ yet. If he did, then I'd start being angry.

"Hey." I greeted back coldly and put the shrimp in my mouth. It actually tasted quite well… I daresay, even better than West Academy's cooking. I couldn't believe I was saying this, since I really loved food back there…

The brown-haired guy was looking straight at me while taking one shrimp from his plate. "I didn't get to ask you… What do you think of the Duel Academy so far?" He asked once he finished chewing it. I frowned, wondering whether to be brutally honest with the guy, or just say something so he could leave me alone.

Finally, I put my sticks on the plate. "Conditions here are better than at the West Academy." I said neutrally. Jaden looked at my plate. "You're not hungry?" He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, a huge grin appeared on his face. "In that case, can I take yours too?"

My eyes widened once he tried to take one of shrimps with his sticks. Oh, no, I WASN'T going to let him do so! I swiftly grabbed the plate and put it above my head, far away from Jaden's reach. "Back _off_." I looked at the guy with a glare. Who did he think he was, randomly taking other people's food without checking to see whether they didn't want it?!

His eyes widened for a few seconds before he started rubbing the back of his head. "Then why aren't you eating? It will be cold!" He pointed out in confusion. "I'm not eating because you decided to come and talk to me. As much as it sounds wrong, I'd rather wait to eat than accidentally choke on something while talking to you." I scowled.

"Alright, fine, no need to get so worked up!" Jaden lifted his hands up (with the right one still holding those sticks). "I won't if your hands go back to your half of table, far away from my plate." I gave him a warning look. He quickly moved them away with a pout. I smirked and put my food back in front of me.

That was when the guy dressed in black walked past Jaden, putting a hand on his right shoulder. His black eyes looked at the guy before landing on me. They then went back to Jaden. "Would you look at that…" He started in amusement with a smirk on his face. "It seems like Ben's cousin put you in place, Slacker!" The black-dressed guy started laughing.

That earned him an eyeroll from Jaden. "Very funny, Chazz." WAIT… My eyes widened in surprise. That guy was… The one my cousin couldn't stop going on and on about?! "Wait, you're Chazz Princeton?!" I blurted out in surprise. Both of the guys looked at me.

"Lady, one small correction. It's _The_ Chazz." He pointed at himself with an even bigger smirk. I raised an eyebrow with my chin resting in my hands. "In other words, you're the guy who shouted at my poor cousin and caused the security to come?" I reminded. "He _did_ step on my foot." The black-dressed guy, now known to me as Chazz, simply said.

I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet. Chazz then looked at Jaden. "Anyway, good luck Slacker." He smirked before smirking at me as well. He then walked away. I raised an eyebrow at his retreating form but said nothing.

"Jay, wait up!" The blue-haired guy suddenly sat on a bench on my left side. I eyed both of them with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, this was beginning to become a bit annoying… Why were they so willing to sit with me?! "Sy, where have you been?" Jaden asked him. "I forgot where I had put my glasses." He explained.

His grey eyes then landed on me. No sooner than that, he whispered something to Jaden who apparently whispered something back as well. They turned back to me with sheepish smiles on their faces. Jaden was trying to straighten his blazer's right sleeve, and the other guy kept looking at me.

"Jay told me who you were…" He trailed off. "I'm Syrus Truesdale!" He then offered me a hand. "Serena Accardi." I said simply and shook it. The short guy eyed me from head to toe. I, on the other hand, took another shrimp with my sticks. "So…" The guy, Syrus started, as if he was looking for a proper way to express himself.

"You're from Italy?" He presumed. I shook my head. "My parents are Italian, but I was born in Domino City." I finally said blankly, while hoping that would make them stop asking more questions. Unfortunately, that _didn't _seem to be the case. "Really?" The short guy asked in surprise.

I simply nodded. "Sweet." Jaden smiled, making me look at him. I had no idea why that was so interesting to him, but I didn't even care. "I see…" The 'Syrus' guy trailed off. "Jay and Ben had just said how you hate _Duel Monsters_?" He then added.

I resisted the urge to slam the plate on the table right in front of them. I could tolerate those two as long as they didn't mention stupid cards… But now they just had to ruin it. Damn them for asking, and damn Ben for spilling my personal information to the world!

Looking away from my plate, I eyed both of them with a frown. "That's true." I managed to say evenly. But on the inside, I wanted to just get out of the room, which was pretty much impossible because I hadn't even finished my dinner yet!

"Why?" Jaden asked while chewing one shrimp. My blood boiled immediately as I frowned at him. Why, why did those two have to be so damn annoying with asking questions?! "I just do." I said curtly. "But why? There's always a reason." He argued in confusion. "Because." I replied icily and decided to finish my dinner as quickly I could. I couldn't stand being around them anymore, especially if they kept jumping at me with stupid questions!

After about a few minutes, I was done with eating. "Good night." I said and quickly got out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

* * *

Once I was inside my room, I decided to lock the door and just get ready for bed. I was lucky to avoid more talking with those two, and I wanted to leave it at that. After getting ready for bed, I soon found myself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"_MUM, PLEASE!" I screamed at my mother pleadingly as she took the cards out of my hands and ripped them apart. Right in front of me. "I don't want to hear any of it. We've told you you're not allowed to play with those cards, and you deliberately disobeyed us." Mum said icily. "But I love them! My friends just told me about…" "I don't care what your friends told you, you can't play with them!" She retorted, making me burst in tears. What else would a then 8-year-old child do?_

"_Serena, look what I got." Ben showed me a few cards. "I don't want them, Ben." I looked at him angrily. "But… Why?" He looked at me in confusion. "I just don't want them! Go play with stupid cards somewhere else!" I pushed the cards away. _

I shot up in my bed with a gasp. Looking around the room, I could see sunrays coming through the window. Letting out a sigh, I quickly grabbed a clock from the table to see what time it was. It was nine o'clock…

As much as I wanted to get back to sleep, I couldn't. Not after those memories which sometimes kept coming back as nightmares. Mum literally tore those stupid cards right in front of my eyes… She and Dad didn't stop there. They forbade me from hanging out with anyone who possessed or played them. Seeing everyone at school played the cards, I ended up all alone. I never even knew what was the point of their ban anyway.

Suddenly, my PDA started ringing. I took it from the table with a frown. Apparently, it was Ben. "What do you want?" I asked in annoyance once I answered his call. I was still mad at him for what he did yesterday after all. _"Why are you mad?" _ He frowned. "Because you decided to spill everything about me to strangers, that's why." I growled.

"_They're not strangers. Those are my friends." _Ben retorted, sounding somewhat hurt. "Yes, but _not_ _mine_. You had no right to tell them everything about me like that." I said icily. "Now what do you want?" I added, wanting to get over with the conversation. _"First duel this year is starting in few minutes. Do you want to come see it?" _

I was staring at him in disbelief. Did he really think that I wanted to come and see some random, stupid duelists fighting with stupid cards?! "No." I replied angrily. He let out a sigh. _"Serena, we'll only sit there and watch…" _"Which part of 'I don't want to come' didn't you understand?!" I growled at my cousin, cutting him off in process.

He was staring at me with what seemed to be mixture of sadness, hurt, and anger. At that moment, I felt bad for being so harsh towards him. I still didn't want to come, but I didn't have to overreact… _"Suit yourself." _"Ben, wait…" Dead line. I looked at the PDA with a sigh.

I was such an idiot… But there was nothing I could do now. When Ben got mad, he could sulk for more than few days until he decided to forgive me. When the duel finished, I would apologize to him, and wait for him to stop being angry with me. That was the best option I had.

However, I still had to go outside. I had to clear my mind after this harsh wake up. I dressed into my uniform. After few minutes of contemplating, I decided to tie the Deck Box to the belt on my waist. I had no idea why I was even carrying this thing… Maybe only because everyone else did so as well. I had to fit in, even in this hell hole.

I then got out of the room.

* * *

Once I walked down the stairs, I decided to look around. No one seemed to be at the dorm… Nor at the beach right next to it. Everyone must have gone to the main building to watch the first duel of the year. Today was Saturday, so having your first duel at that time in the morning made no sense to me… Was dueling more important to those fanatics than actual sleep? They were even crazier than I thought.

However, that meant I would have peace and quiet for some time! A grin appeared on my face at that thought. I started walking down the road towards the main building. Once I was in front of it, I wondered where to go next.

Finally, I decided to go down a random route. I was about to head down there, when I felt a hand on my right shoulder. I quickly spun around and jumped back with a yelp. "Hey, it's just me!" A familiar voice said, making me sigh in annoyance. I looked up.

Jaden was standing right across me with a huge smile on his face. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. How the heck did he always manage to find me wherever I went? Was he stalking me or what?! "No offense, but… Are you stalking me?" I asked with a frown on my face.

"No? Where did you get that idea?" He rubbed the back of his head, giving me a perplexed look. "Then why are you constantly following me wherever I go?" I demanded, not bothering to hide my annoyance. Don't get me wrong, Jaden wouldn't be so bad if he weren't a dueling fanatic… But he was. Also, I was hoping to be alone, not followed by somebody!

"I was going out of the Dueling Arena when I saw you. We didn't talk much yesterday, so I wanted to get the chance to know you better." The brown-haired guy smiled. I raised an eyebrow. Why he was so insistent on getting to know me better was unknown to me… And it wasn't helping. I was supposed to stay away from duelists, not hang out with them!

Look, I appreciated he was optimistic, and positive and all that, but I didn't want to have anything to do with him, or the others! Why did he have to make things even more complicated?! "Why would you want that?" I asked coldly, looking up.

"I've never met anyone who hates _Duel Monsters_." Jaden admitted sheepishly. "So what about that? You're going to follow me around because I hate something you're obsessed with?" I questioned with a glare. "You seem like a nice person." He shrugged. It looked like he wasn't even bothered by my 'obsession' insult.

An even bigger frown appeared on my face. How could I seem nice to him after what had happened so far? First, I screamed my lungs out at him last year, then I was prepared to literally assault him yesterday, and I wasn't exactly polite last night either… This guy was weird.

"Well, could you please stop?" I demanded. "I'll literally do anything!" I added desperately. Jaden frowned for a moment. But then, a small smirk appeared on his face. "_Anything_?" He repeated, his chocolate brown eyes showing something I couldn't put my finger on. "Anything!" I exclaimed, lifting up my arms in air.

"Well, if you insist…" He trailed off. "I challenge you to a duel!" He then declared determinedly. Wait, wait… WAIT… I didn't mean _that_!

I was gaping at him. "You're what?!" "I'm challenging you to a duel. If you win, I'll stop following you. If I win, then nothing. How about that?" Jaden elaborated, his smirk becoming bigger. "Why would I accept that?" I asked in disbelief while looking up.

"I'm offering you a deal, that's why. Besides, I want to see you in action." He smiled, his eyes looking right into mine. There was this mischievous glint to them. Usually, people stayed away from me whenever I wanted to be alone, but this guy was so insistent on following me around…

I stayed quiet for a few seconds, considering my options. If I accepted the duel, I had the chance to finally get him off my back by winning. And it looked like he wasn't going to give up any time soon… Damn him, damn dueling, and damn all other duelists!

"Fine. If it's a duel you want, then you'll get it!" I finally exclaimed before I could even think of what exactly I was saying. I probably should have thought it through… But, right now, the only thing in my mind was doing anything he said. _Even _if it meant dueling.

The moment I said those words, a smile on Jaden's face turned into a huge grin. "Sweet!" He cheered. "Serena, it's time to get your game on!" He declared, taking out his Duel Disk. I raised an eyebrow while folding my arms. I had no idea what the thing was with the 'get your game on' quote… Nor did I want to know. It would have to wait, considering I didn't have my Duel Disk here with me.

"Well, I'm afraid 'getting my game on', or whatever you've said already, will have to wait. I didn't bring my Duel Disk." I said coldly. The brown-haired guy sweat dropped at my statement. "You don't carry your Duel Disk with you?" He questioned. "_No_." I replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why would I carry it on my arm like an idiot?" "You can always carry it in a backpack, you know." He pointed out.

I looked at him. "You know, you're right…" I trailed off with a finger on my chin and a thoughtful expression. "But I _don't want _to!" I then added with a smirk, earning another sweat drop from the guy.

* * *

Once I grabbed my Duel Disk, I slammed the door behind me. I then ran downstairs and a bit away from the dorm. Jaden was there, waiting for me. "Are you ready?" He asked excitedly. I eyed him warily. "Just to make this clear. If I win, you'll stop following me?" I repeated. He nodded.

I frowned at him while taking out my deck. I shuffled it a few times and put it in the slot of the Duel Disk. We then backed away so we could get a good distance between each other. I activated my Duel Disk just as Jaden did the same with his own one.

**Jaden: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"My turn!" Jaden drew a sixth card from his deck. "First I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!" He declared. A giant-looking monster which looked like it was made of clay appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:800/2000)** in Defense Mode. I raised an eyebrow at the monster. I've never heard of Elemental Heroes… This one had a lot of Defense Points, that was for sure. "I'll throw down three facedowns and end my turn." The brown-haired guy set down three cards.

I drew a sixth card before looking at what I had in my left hand. I had some kind of idea where to start… "I'll summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode." I said and put the card in its slot. The monster appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1000/500)**.

"A Desert Rose? What kind of deck is that?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head in confusion. I sighed in annoyance. Did he really have to be so damn curious?! "If you really have to know, my deck is Deck of Living Nature." I said coldly. I definitely wasn't going to tell him the whole story about my deck technically being only a half of it. Hopefully, this explanation would please him.

The look of confusion on his face was slowly replaced with a grin. "Deck of Living Nature? That sounds awesome!" He exclaimed in excitement. I looked up at him unimpressed. Why, why the heck was he getting all excited over _stupid cards_? That guy really needed to find something more productive in his life…

"Whatever you say." I replied coldly, not bothering to hide my frown. "I'll set a facedown." I finished my turn.

Jaden drew another card. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian in Attack Mode." He put the card on the slot of his disk. A green monster with feathers appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1000/1000)**. I eyed the weird thing carefully. The first time I'd seen it, really… "Then I'll activate 'Feather Shot'." The guy lifted up a card.

My eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion. What the heck were all those cards?! And why was I hearing about them just now?! Maybe Ben did tell me about them when he mentioned his friends, but I just had to be a jerk and refuse to listen… Look where that got me!

"Thanks to this, my Elemental Hero Avian can attack as many times as number of monsters on my field!" My eyes widened in surprise. What… WHY didn't I listen to Ben more?!

Then, the 'Avian' monster attacked my rose with its feathers, destroying it. Then it attacked me _directly_. I let out a growl before checking to see my gear. My points were down to 3000.

**Jaden: 4000 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

"Because you had destroyed my Desert Rose, I can destroy one card at your side of field…" I trailed off. For a moment, I really wanted to destroy his Avian. However, from my previous experience with misusing this special effect, I decided to go for one of facedowns. "I pick one of the facedowns!" I pointed at the one on Jaden's furthest right.

"I end my turn." He said simply. "Finally." I growled while pulling out another card harshly. "First, I'll use 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy another one of your facedowns." I started, revealing my facedown card. It destroyed the second one of his trap cards.

"Next, I activate 'Graceful Charity'!" I declared, lifting up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to draw three cards, but I have to discard two of them." I drew three, and then discarded two cards from my hand.

I then looked up at the field. "I'll summon Wetland Flycatcher in Attack Mode." A giant, plant with eyes and parts which looked like legs appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1000/800)**. "It has the same number of points as Avian." Jaden pointed out. "I know that." I frowned. "Which is why I'll equip it with 'Nitrogen Boost'." I lifted up another card in my hand.

White light appeared around my flycatcher. "Thanks to this card, its points rise to 2000." I couldn't help smirking. "Now attack his hero Avian!" I ordered. The plant was about to attack the monster, when… "I activate 'Mirror Force'!" Jaden shouted, revealing his last facedown. "It destroys all of the monsters in Attack Mode on your side of field." He smiled.

My eyes widened yet again as my monster disappeared. Damn it… He _was_ good. "I'll set a facedown and end my turn." I growled.

Jaden drew another card. Then he looked up at me. "So… You hate _Duel Monsters_, huh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you care about that?" I gave him my deadliest glare. "It's just weird to me. Why would you be here if you hated them so much?" He shrugged. "You can blame my parents for being stuck with all of you in this hell hole." I retorted angrily. "Your parents?" The brown-haired guy looked up from his card questioningly. "As much as this sounds wrong… How about more dueling, and less talking?" I glared back.

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't figure out. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in Attack Mode." He finally said, putting the card in its slot. A monster which looked like a lady dressed in red appeared (**ATK/DEF:1200/800)**. "Then I'll use 'Polymerization'," He suddenly lifted up a card I had never seen before. Polymerization? What the hell was that thing?!

"To fuse Burstinatrix and Avian into Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" A monster which appeared to be a combination of previous two appeared (**ATK/DEF:2100/1200)**. "Attack her directly!" Jaden then ordered. I glared at both him and the monster just as the latter flew to me.

Thankfully, this wasn't over yet. "I activate 'Call Of the Haunted', and I use it to bring back my Desert Rose in Defense Mode!" I cried. The fox appeared on the field yet again. However, Flame Wingman destroyed it either way. I smirked. Maybe the rose was gone, but my Life Points were safe…

"I'll activate Desert Rose's Special Effect to destroy your Hero Clayman." I declared. The monster disappeared from the field.

However, the Wingman then suddenly flew to me. "You've already attacked me!" I shouted to Jaden. "But his Special Ability activates! When your monster is destroyed, you lose the number of Life Points equal to the Attack Points of the destroyed monster!" He explained with this mischievous look on his face.

WHAT?! I let out a yelp once the monster attacked me. It cost me 1000 Life Points…

**Jaden: 4000 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

I looked up with a glare. "I end my turn." Jaden finished.

I angrily pulled out another card. No way was I going to lose this duel to him… My eyes landed on the guy before I smirked.

"I'll summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode." I declared. The wolf appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:800/1500)**. "Thanks to its Special Ability, it can attack you directly." I explained its Special Ability. "Go, Mountain Wolf, attack his Life Points!" I then ordered the wolf.

It raced right towards Jaden, and attacked him with its claws.

**Jaden: 3200 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

I'll set two facedowns." I ended my turn. Jaden drew another card. "I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode." He declared. A monster wearing some sort of dark blue with gold armor appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1600/1400)**.

"Now Flame Wingman will attack your Mountain Wolf!" He declared. Flame Wingman started flying to my wolf, but I was ready for this. "I activate 'Defensive Mimicry'!" I cried and lifted my left hand up. One of my facedowns revealed itself.

My Mountain Wolf gained the appearance of Flame Wingman. The real Wingman stopped in confusion, eyeing his lookalike. "What's that?!" Jaden demanded in surprise, his eyes widening. "Thanks to my trap, any of my monsters can gain the appearance of the monster attacking it. Therefore, your own one gets confused and cannot attack it for one turn." I explained smugly.

"Fine," He frowned. "But Sparkman can still attack it!" He pointed out with a smile before ordering his monster to attack my wolf. Except that, again, it wasn't going to work. "I activate 'Fishing Out'!" I declared, revealing my second facedown. "'Fishing Out'?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head perplexed. "Once this card is activated, I can return the targeted monster from the field to my hand. Your monster cannot attack anymore." I explained with a frown.

The wolf disappeared from the field and returned to my hand. "Wow…" The brown-haired guy trailed off. A huge smile appeared all over his face. "Serena, your cards really are something!" He said excitedly. I looked at him strangely. Why was he praising my cards? _Duel Monsters_ were stupid in general... They didn't deserve any praise. "If you say so." I replied coldly. "Are you done with the turn or not?" I then asked a bit impatiently. The brown-haired guy frowned for a moment but nodded.

I drew another card. "I activate 'Pot of Greed'!" I declared, lifting up the card in my hand. "It allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." I drew two, and then looked up at Jaden with a smirk. Finally, one of my favorite cards was here…

"I'll summon Forest Fungus in Attack Mode." The fungus appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:500/800)**. "Fungus?" Jaden looked at my monster in confusion. "Its Special Effect is to absorb one of your monster's attack points." I started, ignoring him. "What?" His eyes widened.

I smirked. "And I choose Flame Wingman!" I pointed at Jaden's fused monster. The fungus immediately flew to it, and tied its hands around it. Both of them began glowing in green color. "Now, fungus can either absorb them itself, or give them to me… I'll choose the former." I explained. My monster's Attack Points grew to 2600 while the Wingman's fell to zero.

"Forest Fungus, attack Jaden's Sparkman!" I ordered, lifting my right hand. The fungus flew to the Sparkman and strangled it with its small hands. The monster was destroyed as strong wind appeared. When I looked at my gear, I could see Sparkman's destruction definitely cost Jaden some Life Points.

**Jaden: 1600 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

Suddenly, Jaden started laughing. I couldn't help feeling both confused and annoyed. Everything seemed to be funny to him… "What's so funny?!" I demanded a bit irritated. "This duel is one of the best I've had in a while. It's so fun!" He smiled at me. I could tell it was a genuine one. However, I didn't care about his smile at the moment. His 'fun' comment was getting on my nerves.

"There's nothing _fun_ in this duel. There's nothing fun when it comes to dueling in general." I growled. "Why do you keep saying that?" He looked at me curiously. "Why do I keep saying what?" I glared. "How there's nothing fun in dueling." "Because it's true." I retorted.

Another smile appeared on Jaden's face. "Can't you feel it?" He asked. By now, I was staring at him like he was some sort of a lunatic. Correction, he most probably was. I didn't officially say he was, there was just _strong _possibility… "I don't know what you're talking about." I finally said with a huff.

"Can't you feel the excitement? We're standing right here, dueling, and giving our best!" He grinned. I stayed quiet for a few moments. I definitely wasn't feeling any excitement… What I wanted was to just finish this stupid duel. There was nothing exciting about dueling to me. It was just a reminder of painful memories…

I shook my head. "I'll set another facedown and end my turn." I replied coldly.

Jaden drew next. "I'll use 'De-Fusion' to defuse Flame Wingman into Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix!" He declared and lifted up the card in his hand. My eyes widened once the two monsters from before appeared on the field again.

Then I realized what this meant. Since Flame Wingman technically wasn't on the field anymore, my fungus would lose those points it absorbed, and those two would have their normal Attack Points… This wasn't good.

The next thing I knew was that Burstinatrix destroyed my fungus. I covered my eyes as smoke appeared and my Life Points dropped to 1500.

**Jaden: 1600 LP**

**Me: 1500 LP**

But then, Avian attacked me directly yet again, causing me to let out a yelp. My Life Points dropped, this time to 500.

**Jaden: 1600 LP**

**Me: 500 LP**

"I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn." Jaden said, making me growl. I just wanted to get this thing over with, I couldn't stand it anymore… Why did he have to be so damn good at this?!

I was just about to draw another card, when I remembered something. Touching my left wrist, I prayed for the freaking bracelet to give me some sort of luck in drawing the right card… "What are you doing?" Jaden's voice made me look up.

"I'm praying for a good draw." I responded coldly. Finally, I decided to draw. Looking at it for a few seconds, I hoped this would somehow help me win. "I'll summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode…" I started.

However, I was suddenly cut off by Jaden. "I activate my trap 'Solemn Judgment'!" He exclaimed, as the facedown revealed itself. "What?!" I gaped. "By paying half of my Life Points, I can negate your summoning." He explained the card's effect.

**Jaden: 800 LP**

**Me: 500 LP**

The card disappeared from my hand. Great, just great… My trap card was useless, considering I had no monsters on the field… The card I had drawn was _also _useless…

"I end my turn." I frowned. "In that case…" Jaden smiled. "Avian, Burstinatrix, attack her directly!" He ordered his monsters. "This wasn't supposed to happen…" I muttered in panic. It was obvious there was no way for me to get out of this one, and I hated it!

Both Burstinatrix and Avian flew to me and attacked me. I covered my head with my arms as my Life Points fell to zero.

**Jaden: 800 LP**

**Me: 0 LP**

Slowly looking up, I could see holograms disappearing. I let out a sigh and fell to my knees. It was finally over, I managed to survive the stupid duel… But why was I feeling bad about losing? I should have been happy!

"Hey." Jaden's voice made me look up. He was offering me a hand. I looked at it for a few moments. Then my eyes looked up again, this time right into his brown ones. I slowly took his hand. He helped me up to my feet.

"That's game!" He grinned, and gave me a two-fingered salute with a wink. I raised an eyebrow, but remained quiet. "You know, that was great. I really had a lot of fun!" The brown-haired guy told me cheerfully. "Well, good to know at least one of us had." I replied sarcastically.

Jaden's smile disappeared from his face. "I still can't take you seriously with not having fun during dueling." He admitted. The 'fun' subject made my blood boil. How long would we keep mentioning it?! "Just because it's fun to you, it doesn't mean it should be fun to me as well." I spoke up icily. "In fact, it's brought me more pain than fun." I added angrily before I could stop myself from saying it. But then, I realized what I had said. Damn it, did I really have to overreact and spill my guts?!

"Pain?" Jaden looked at me as if I were crazy. "Forget the last bit. Anyway, you won, so congratulations." I said coldly. "It also means you win the deal." I then reminded.

Before he could say anything, I quickly started walking away. I just wanted to get back to my room and avoid everyone for the rest of the day. Clearing my head with fresh air definitely _didn't _help… If anything, it made it even worse. I was reminded of both the stupid past memories, and I was also feeling bad about losing a stupid card game.

I looked at the bracelet which was under my left glove. This thing usually brought me luck whenever I dueled… But now it didn't.

Finally, I made it to my room and slammed the door behind me.

**Well, that's it for this chapter! Hopefully, it gave a bit of insight on why Serena hates ****_Duel Monsters_**** so much… I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	9. School Craziness

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! If other characters use the hax, then I think Serena has a right to use it as well… :) And yes, that's exactly what she's been wondering ever since it happened, especially since she's now forced to attend this school… :)**

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) Personally, I don't mind reading stories with canon plot if they have their own twist to it… :)**

**I only own my OC's!**

**Third Person's POV**

There was nothing but silence inside the room. The room was small, but illuminated by light. A round table and a chair were at its very center. A person was sitting by the table. A white cape was covering upper part of his body, including his face. Cards were sprawled all over the round table.

A frown appeared on the man's face as he lifted up a card with his right hand. Turning the card around, he looked at it. Again, it was the same one from before. It showed a young woman. She was wearing a dress which was colored white, red, and black at the same time. A bouquet of flowers was in her hands. But, this time, there was another detail he hadn't noticed before. A lamb's head was peeking from behind her dress.

The man's eyebrows furrowed in both concentration and curiosity. Three colors of the dress symbolized something chaotic, or a clash, and the lamb behind the lady was symbol for innocence… "The Lady with flowers, yet again." He confirmed his suspicions.

He knew the card could refer to only one person. "Serena Accardi…" The man repeated the name he had remembered nearly a year ago. Until then, the 'Lady' card didn't appear. But now, it did… Pulling out a piece of paper from under the table, he looked at the picture.

A girl with long, fiery and messy red hair was waving at the camera. Freckles were over her cheeks. Her eyes were bright blue, and a small smile was on her face. The girl appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen.

Looking over the picture with his purple eyes, the man could see there was something… Unusual about the girl. And it's not because he was supposed to know her. In fact, that little detail had nothing to do with this.

He could sense she was quite an unusual child… She needed to be tested. If his predictions were true…

Suddenly, the door opened. Aster Phoenix was at the entrance of the room. "I've expected your arrival." The man stated while still looking at the card in his hand. The young, silver-haired guy walked to the table. "What's that card?" He raised an eyebrow.

The man put it down. "It doesn't matter." He waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. "What I want," This time, he turned around to look up at Aster Phoenix. "Is for you to go back to Duel Academy." He said firmly.

Once he heard those words, Aster Phoenix looked at the man in disbelief. "Sartorius, need I remind you I've been there recently?" He frowned. "I'm aware, which is why I want you to go there again." The man named Sartorius replied calmly.

"But why? Not only I'd dueled Jaden Yuki before, I had to lose to a guy who's not even a pro because you had told me to!" The young guy questioned. Sartorius could sense he was trying not to lose his patience. "I had asked you before," He started while turning back to his table. "And now I'll ask you again to put your complete faith in me." He finished calmly.

Aster Phoenix kept frowning. Sartorius was someone he could trust, he knew that… He was his friend, and he helped him so many times! Especially when his legal guardian was acting weird…

However, the last two actions made him question the point of those events. He disliked Duel Academy, so he didn't understand why Sartorius had him enrolled there in the first place. He also didn't understand why the man wanted him to lose the duel to Jaden Yuki. Losing was the last thing he ever wanted, especially since he was a Pro Duelist.

As much as he wanted to call Sartorius out on those seemingly ridiculous actions, Aster Phoenix decided to stay quiet. He had just asked him for trust, and he couldn't deny that to his longtime friend, and now manager.

"Fine. Why should I go back to the Academy?" The silver-haired guy raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "I want you to duel a student named Serena Accardi, and lose the duel just like you had done so before." The man explained calmly. "You want me to lose _again_?" Aster Phoenix asked in disbelief.

However, this time, Sartorius ignored the tone of his voice. He only nodded. "Did you keep those cards like I had told you to?" "I did." The guy responded. It was silent for a few moments. "So, where am I supposed to find this girl?" He then asked. "Ask the Chancellor." Sartorius replied simply. Aster Phoenix frowned, but didn't say anything at that idea.

"Well, then I'd better get going." He said, getting ready to walk out. "Aster?" "Yes?" The man's voice made him turn around. "Do try to avoid mentioning me, even if they ask you." Sartorius finally said. The young Pro Duelist raised an eyebrow at the man's rather cold tone and choice of words. However, he only nodded. "Understood." With those words, he was out.

**Serena's POV**

_There was nothing but thick mist yet again. Letting out a groan, I decided to just stay quiet and observe things around me. I already kind of knew what to expect whenever I was in this place… _

"_Oh, I lost again!" A young girl's voice suddenly exclaimed. I quickly turned around in hopes of finding out where those words came from. However, that was impossible, considering the voice was echoing from everywhere. "Let me see your cards." A young boy's voice said._

_I stayed quiet. By now, I've heard that voice more than a few times… Yet I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to belong to. _

"_If you had played those cards after my turn, you could have won!" The boy then said cheerfully. "But I couldn't have, since you beat me on your turn." The girl pointed out in disappointment. "Well, maybe you'll win in the next duel. How about we play again?" The boy suggested. "There's no point, I'll lose either way!" She responded, not even trying to hide her sadness._

"_But you were doing just fine, even better than before!" A third voice spoke up. It sounded very familiar… "Yeah, you managed to take out half of my Life Points!" The male voice added. "But I still lost…" The girl trailed off. "You did. Your friend lost a lot of duels until he got better at it." "I lost a ton!" The boy added, confirming those words._

"_And besides, it's not always about winning and losing. It's about..." I couldn't hear the end of the words because of sudden wind blowing past me. Thankfully, it didn't knock me down. "Your aunt's right!" The boy agreed happily. "So how about we try again?" It was silent for a few moments. "You're on." The girl cheered._

"BEEP! BEEP!" The alarm's ringing could be heard. I let out a sneeze before quickly grabbing my pillow and turning around. Hopefully, the ringing would just stop, and I could continue my sleep….

However, it didn't stop at all. Instead, it was even worse than when it started. "Next time I'm choosing which alarm I should buy." I opened my eyes with a growl and sat up. I then turned off the alarm with the pillow still in my hands. Aunt Maria was the one who bought this alarm for me a month ago. She knew I could sleep in if I wanted to. Therefore, she wanted to prevent that from happening.

Even though I did turn off the alarm, I couldn't go back to sleep. The damn thing had woken me up already. Not only that, I also had stupid classes. Yup, that convinced me I was still on this hell of an island…

Today was Wednesday. It's been four days since Ben started ignoring me, even though I apologized to him for my outburst. If everything went as usual, he would get over it soon… Hopefully. Not talking to anyone would just lead me into insanity. I avoided damn fanatics of course, but Ben was my cousin, and I wanted to at least talk to him.

So far, if we didn't count Saturday, avoiding people has been going pretty well. I even managed to avoid those Slifer Red guys.

I threw my pillow at the bed and stood up. Soon after that, I put on my uniform and tied the Deck Box to the belt.

Just as I was about to take my herbarium, I accidentally knocked the album off my table. It landed on the floor, opening from the hitting force in process.

I was about to close it… When the photos on the page attracted my attention. One was of Ben and me when we were nine, another one was with Aunt Maria and Uncle Luca… However, the third and fourth one were with Sarina and Sartorius.

In the third one, the woman was reading me a book. In the fourth one, the man was spinning me around in the air. I was about four in those pictures…

"_How did it end?!" I asked Sarina excitedly. "Sorry, little one," She let out a laugh and started putting the book away. "But that's enough for tonight. Your parents strictly told me to put you in bed at 9 o'clock. No later than that." "When are Mama and Papa coming home?" I asked slowly. "Probably around midnight." The woman stated. "Then we can finish the story!" I cheered._

"_Serena, no. Your parents told me…" "Please, at least fifteen minutes!" I prevented her from closing the book and looked at her pleadingly. She looked at me for a few moments… And then she smiled. "Fine, but __**only**__ fifteen minutes." She reminded. "Thank you, Sarina!" I squealed and jumped up, hugging the woman who laughed and hugged me back._

It would always be like that. I would beg Sarina to keep reading books to me when I was a kid. She would usually make an exception with putting me to bed (without my parents knowing that of course) because of my pleading. Even though my parents would usually be absent for a day, sometimes, I felt like it used to be even longer…

I looked away from the picture and looked at the other one.

"_Spin me again!" I squealed excitedly as Sartorius spun me around in the garden of my house. "Again!" I exclaimed and he did so. "Again! Again! Again!" "Serena, one more time, and that's it for today. Alright?" The man looked at me. "Do it again!" I shouted excitedly before he spun me around in the air. I let out a squeal of joy while the wind was brushing against me._

_However, it stopped. Sartorius put me down. "Again!" I exclaimed and ran to him. "We said only one more time, Serena." He reminded me. He then started walking away. _

"_What's wrong, little one?" Sarina asked while kneeling next to me. She could see I was in tears by now. "Sartorius won't spin me around anymore!" I exclaimed. Standing up, Sarina looked at her brother. "Why won't you spin Serena around? You know she likes it!" She asked. "Because if I keep doing it, then both of us will be on the ground. My head is throbbing." The man replied while sitting on a chair and holding his head with his right hand. _

_Sarina let out a laugh before looking down at me. "Don't worry. My brother will soon be ready for another round of spinning. He just needs to take a break." She explained. "Really?" I asked. "Promise." The man promised from his sitting position._

I chuckled at the memory. I used to beg Sartorius to constantly spin me around in the air until his head ached like crazy. Just him putting up with that when I was a kid was what I was thankful for. But, I was small and quite immature back when those pictures were taken… Again, I was only four!

Those two pictures reminded me I still had no idea where those two were at the moment… Wherever they were, I really hoped they were fine…

Suddenly, I remembered I still had to go to class. As much as I hoped those two were fine, I had bigger problems at the moment!

Seeing class was starting in ten minutes, I closed the album and put it on the bed. I then grabbed my herbarium and ran out of the room.

* * *

Once I arrived in the classroom, I could see Ben sitting with his friends on the right side, in fourth and fifth rows. I walked to the left side of it. Seeing the last rows have already been filled, I had no choice but to sit in the fifth one. I only hoped Ben or his friends hadn't seen me… If he did decide to stop ignoring me, he'd just try to introduce me to them. That was the way it worked. Ben would always try to get me to meet his friends…

I sat in the only free place and took out my herbarium. I didn't pay attention to those lessons at all. Instead, I spent the time looking through my plants, or even writing something about them.

Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Ben talking to his friends. He was sitting in a fifth row, in between a girl and a Ra Yellow student. Jaden, his buddy Syrus, and Chazz were in the row below them. However, that didn't stop them from getting into what seemed to be a heated discussion.

I finally decided to stop paying attention to what my cousin was doing. Why should I bother with it while he was ignoring me after all? If he saw me looking at him, Ben would take it as if I were desperate for him to forgive me. I _wasn't_. I had apologized to him. I _did_ want to talk to someone who wasn't a dueling fanatic… But I was never going to go that far, as in pleading or attracting attention. He would eventually forgive me, and that was it.

No sooner than that, Mrs. Fontaine walked into the classroom. From what I understood, she was a substitute for this class until the other professor got better. I had to hand it to her though. She was the head of Obelisk Blue dorm for girls, a nurse, a gym instructor, _and _was a substitute… She was a woman with a lot of capacities. It was even more surprising since she seemed to be so young. Or she just took care of her looks in order to appear younger.

Suddenly, something fell out of Mrs. Fontaine's pocket while she was on her way to the desk. "Professor, you dropped something…" A dark blonde-haired girl, who was sitting on Ben's right started. That was when her hazel eyes widened. I could tell she was rather surprised for some reason…

My eyes landed on the paper the woman had dropped. It was a picture of a guy with long, dark brown hair… I didn't even get to see more of it because Mrs. Fontaine quickly picked it up. "Oh… How did that get here?" She quickly asked in surprise.

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Why was she acting so surprised? The picture literally flew out of her pocket! "_Che bello_…" I could hear my cousin trailing off sarcastically while Mrs. Fontaine hurried to the desk. "If I weren't so used to your habits by now, I'd ask you to translate that." The Ra Yellow guy with angular face and slicked, black hair said in a thick British accent.

"What can I say? Proud to be Italian." I could see Ben smirking. The British guy simply smiled. The girl sighed before letting out a laugh. "I didn't know Mrs. Fontaine was a fan of Atticus…" She then commented in what seemed to be surprise. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I had no idea who this 'Atticus' was… "She must be compensating for her old age." The Ra Yellow guy pointed out matter-of-factly with this smile on his face.

Ben covered his mouth with hands not to burst in laughter, so did Jaden. The girl, and Syrus, on the other hand, looked at the guy in astonishment. Chazz Princeton simply let out a groan and face palmed.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise while trying not to laugh myself. They were dueling fanatics, sure… But this guy just straight out called her old… I only hoped the poor woman hadn't heard that. What surprised me was how casual the British guy sounded while insulting her… Or maybe he was just tactless. I wasn't even sure anymore. Again, I was hoping she hadn't heard him.

By now, Ben finally lost it. He burst in an uncontrollable laughter, with Jaden joining him. The girl, Syrus, and Chazz were simply staring at the Ra Yellow guy, Jaden, and my cousin back and forth. "You'd better pray she hadn't heard you!" My cousin then said a bit more loudly than intended (I guessed that wasn't his intention).

My eyes quickly landed on Mrs. Fontaine; whose back was turned to the class. She then started turning around. I could have sworn I've seen a brief scowl on her face, before it quickly went back to her usual smile. The woman made her way to where my cousin and his friends were sitting.

While my cousin and his friend were still laughing, the eyes of the other four widened to the size of saucers. "Cut it, Slacker!" Chazz smacked Jaden in the back of his head. The girl elbowed my cousin. The duo's eyes widened as well once they noticed Mrs. Fontaine standing beside their seats.

"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Fontaine…" The Ra Yellow guy greeted with a nervous smile. It was quiet for a few moments. The woman looked at the guy from head to toe. "Bastion, _detention_." She spoke up with a biggest smile I've seen from her so far. Her tone was no better. It sounded so nice and sweet that I could tell her 'being polite' attitude was forced. That was even scarier than actually being angry…

The Ra Yellow guy, now known to me as Bastion, gaped at her. Mrs. Fontaine's grey eyes then landed on my cousin. "Benjamin, detention for you too." She told him. "Wait, what did I do?!" Ben demanded in surprise, making Chazz groan and send him a look of disbelief.

Finally, her eyes landed on my cousin's accomplice in the laughing session. "Detention for you too, Jaden." She declared. The guy's eyes were so wide that I thought they were close to popping out of their sockets. "_Detention_?!" He exclaimed in surprise. "But I already have one from yesterday!" He then pointed out. "Then that will be a _double_ detention for you." Mrs. Fontaine smiled before walking away from the group.

Ben and Jaden groaned while Bastion sighed. Syrus, Chazz, and the girl looked at them with sighs. "A _double _detention? What a way to start a school year, Jay…" The short guy pointed out in disbelief.

I decided not to listen to their talking anymore. Bastion guy kinda deserved it for insulting Mrs. Fontaine like that, but maybe she went a bit too far with Ben and Jaden… But then again, they _were_ laughing at what their friend had said… However, Jaden wasn't joking when he said it was a double detention. The Chancellor gave him one yesterday for sleeping in his class, and he gave Syrus one too for not waking him up.

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Just leave it to my cousin and his friends to get into some sort of trouble… It's been only a few days since the semester started!

"Serena Accardi!" Mrs. Fontaine's voice made my heart rate go faster in both panic and fear. What had I done wrong?! "Is it detention?!" I exclaimed frantically, throwing my herbarium to the floor (it echoed pretty loudly, I have to say, most of the students covered their ears) and jumping up.

The woman was looking at me in utter astonishment while a lot of people burst in laugher. However, her grey eyes then softened. "It's _not_ a detention." She smiled. Thankfully, the smile looked genuine, unlike her previous forced one. "Chancellor Crowler requested for you to come to his office after this class." "Oh. Thank you." I nodded gratefully at her explanation and sat down. I then grabbed the herbarium from the floor and started looking through it. At the same time, I couldn't help wondering why the Chancellor wanted to see me…

* * *

Bell rang for the end of class. I stood up and took the herbarium in my hands. Without paying attention to other people inside, I made my way towards the Chancellor's office.

* * *

It'd be wonderful to say I did end up in the office… However, the truth was, I had _no idea_ where it was supposed to be. I only had luck with the classroom because I saw other students walking in. "Oh, _la gioia_…" I trailed off sarcastically while tugging at my hair out of pure nervousness. It must have looked even messier now, but, again, when was my hair ever tidy? _Mai_.

"Hey, Serena." Jaden's voice could be heard from my right. Looking at the side, I could see the Slifer student grinning at me. "Hey." I greeted coldly. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Crowler's office?" He asked curiously.

That _was_ technically where I was supposed to be… However, I _wasn't _going to admit I got lost. That would be just embarrassing! "What are _you_ doing here?!" I retorted instead of giving a reasonable answer.

"Ben, Bastion, Syrus and I are heading to the office so we can hear what our detention is." Jaden let out a groan. "Well, next time don't laugh at your friend's insult." I frowned. "I wasn't laughing at what he said, I was laughing at _the way_ he said it. The words themselves _were _kind of insulting..." He folded his arms. "You were still laughing." I reminded curtly. "I probably shouldn't have, because then I wouldn't have double detention." He put hands behind his head with a sheepish smile. "_Probably_?" I raised an eyebrow.

Just as he said that, I could see the other three guys walking up to where we were. Ben was looking at two of us back and forth with a frown. Bastion seemed to be rather calm. Syrus, on the other hand, was looking at me warily before looking back at his buddy.

Jaden opened his mouth to say something to my comment, but was cut off by his Ra Yellow friend. "I believe we haven't met properly. My name's Bastion Misawa." He offered me a hand. I eyed him for a few moments before finally accepting the hand. "Serena Accardi." I introduced myself as well and shook it. Bastion Misawa… This name was easy to remember… I wouldn't have to worry about asking people again and again what their name was if I remembered them correctly.

"We'd better get going before Crowler gives us double detention." Ben suddenly reminded. "That would be _triple_ detention in Jaden's case." Bastion corrected him. "Not funny!" The mentioned person exclaimed. "Are you coming or not?" My cousin frowned at me. I could tell he was still mad. The only reason we were talking was because we weren't alone here.

However, I nodded. We then started walking to what I hoped was the Chancellor's office…

**Well, that's it for today! In the next chapter, we get to see why Crowler wants Serena in the office… In case anyone's wondering ****the words in Italian mean:**

**Che bello: How nice;**

**La gioia: Joy;**

**Mai: Never;**

**Also, to make something clear. Bastion's comment and the 'picture' thing are actually from the _'Tag Force'_ game. This situation is inspired by it.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	10. Dueling A Pro

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) Well, considering Serena **_**is**_** avoiding them and pretty much the rest of the Academy, I don't blame them lmao. They have no reason to try to befriend someone who doesn't want to talk to them. Some of them didn't even technically meet her, so…**** :) As for the question, I don't want to spoil it, so you'll just have to find out. ;)**

**dream lighting: Thanks for reviewing! :) True, Ben **_**should**_** swallow his pride a bit… But that's just a part of his character's flaws. Serena's already used to it, and she knows he forgives her sooner or later… But Ben's not a bad person in general. ;)**

**I only own my OC's!**

First few minutes of walking were filled with silence. Bastion was looking straight ahead, so was Ben. Syrus was closely following both of them.

"Why do you think Crowler wants to see you?" Jaden suddenly asked me while we were at the back of the group. Yup, he apparently didn't give up on trying to talk to me in some sort of way… I still couldn't understand why. What was so interesting to him about me? I was being rude to him after all… "Hopefully not for being near you while you were laughing at Bastion's insult." I commented sarcastically.

That was when Syrus whispered something to him while looking at me. Jaden whispered something back, making his friend shake his head. However, the brown-haired guy seemed to ignore that head shaking. Instead, he looked up at me yet again. "Why should he? You weren't laughing…" He pointed out sheepishly.

Those words made me roll my eyes. It was obvious the Yuki guy just couldn't understand the meaning of _sarcasm_…. I simply huffed and folded my arms. At the same time, I couldn't help noticing Syrus' wary look while he was glancing between me and Jaden back and forth. That only made me even more annoyed.

Out of everything possible, I was stuck with four guys. One of them was my cousin who was still pissed with me, and the other three were stupid dueling fanatics. The first one was either tactless or just liked insulting women. The second one was looking at me as if he were paranoid, and the third one was just incredibly dense and naïve.

My eyes landed on Ben's moving form in front of me. He was holding hands in pockets of his Obelisk Blue blazer. His short light brown hair looked quite messy at this moment, which was unlike his usual appearance. I was the one with messy hair after all. His own one always looked rather neat!

I then looked at Bastion. His grey eyes were looking ahead, and his arms were folded. My eyes moved to Syrus, who also had hands in pockets of his blazer. However, unlike Ben, he was walking a bit faster to keep up with us.

Finally, my eyes landed on Jaden. He was walking casually and whistling while straightening his blaz… My eyes widened once he suddenly saw me looking his way and grinned. I quickly looked away with a huff and put hands on my hips as a good measure.

Out of those three fanatics, despite everything, he seemed to be the most normal if that was possible… Wait, what was I saying? Dueling fanatics could _not _be normal! All they cared about was playing stupid cards! They didn't give a damn about anything else in the world! Why else would they be fanatics after all? It was official. I was definitely losing my mind on this island. To even think about those people being… _Normal_….

The door opening brought me back to reality. The guys walked through them, with me being the last one. We were in a room with a desk, plant pot, and a huge window.

A tall man was sitting by the desk. He had blonde hair which was tied in a ponytail, and light blue eyes. The man was dressed in an Obelisk Blue uniform, which also had a ruffled pink collar. He was wearing crescent-shaped earrings. That was Chancellor whose name was... I didn't remember his name. I only prayed someone would say it so I could try to keep it in my head this time.

He looked… Kinda weird. If we ignored his appearance in general, one could conclude he hated people slacking off in his class. That was why he gave Jaden that detention in the first place. Thankfully, he didn't notice me looking through my herbarium yesterday. If he had, then I probably would have got a detention too. Then again, I was trying to be stealthy as possible, while Yuki made his sleeping (and, I daresay, _loud_ snoring) in class obvious as hell.

Another man was standing by the desk, on Chancellor's right side. Unlike him, this man was short and stout. He had balding brown hair and was dressed in a different uniform from the Chancellor. I hadn't seen the man before, so I'd guess that was the Vice-Chancellor.

"Chancellor Crowler, Mrs. Fontaine told us to come here for our detention." Bastion spoke up. Chancellor's… _Crowler's_ eyes looked away from an album in his hands, landing on the four guys in front of me. "Detention? What for?" He asked uninterested, his eyes looking between them and the album back and forth.

Ben cleared his throat. "For an… _Incident_ in today's class, Mrs. Fontaine gave detention to Bastion, Syrus, Jaden and me." He explained. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. 'Incident'? He actually sounded like a damn diplomat!

Crowler (I figured I should call him that when not talking, if I wanted to remember his name) let out a groan and tossed the album to the ground on his left. I yelped and jumped back in surprise, so did the other guys. The short man, on the other hand, gave Crowler an unimpressed look.

"Look, I don't _care _about your detentions right now! I asked for Serena Accardi to come here, so why isn't she inside this office?!" The man demanded, obviously trying not to lose it but at the same time failing.

Ben turned around to look at me with a frown. "But she's here…" Jaden pointed out while rubbing the back of his head. He, Ben, Syrus and Bastion moved a bit out of the way to show where I was.

As soon as he saw me, a huge grin appeared on Crowler's face. Honestly, that grin made me feel a bit frightened. The sudden mood change at seeing me was _not _helping… It made me think of actually running out of here. In fact, there was a _huge_ possibility for that happening!

"Ah, Serena! How nice of you to join us!" The man chirped. Ben, Jaden, Bastion and Syrus glanced at him and me with dumbfounded looks on their faces. They had absolutely no idea what was going on, and I was in the same situation…

However, I somehow managed to straighten up. "You wanted to see me, Chancellor?" I spoke up, trying to sound calm. Unfortunately, I could hear my voice trembling a bit from nervousness. Who knew what that man wanted to see me for?! "Yes, come and sit!" The man offered, motioning to a chair in front of him.

"What about our detention?" Bastion suddenly asked. Crowler glared at all four of them. "Since you want it so badly, then you'll have it! You need to find forty replacement Duel Disks all across the campus!" Ben, Bastion and Syrus were staring at him, their eyes wide. "Only forty? Not bad, there's…" Jaden stopped for a moment, apparently counting on his fingers (earning a sweatdrop from his friends). "_Nine_ or _ten _for four of us?" He questioned.

The man let out a groan. "_Another ten_ for you, since you got yourself a double detention." He declared, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. "Wait…" Jaden gaped. However, he never got to finish because Crowler finally lost it. "OUT! ALL FOUR OF YOU!" He shouted.

As soon as those words left his mouth, all four of them made a run for it, right out of the office. I was looking at their disappearing forms. I didn't know whether to be thankful or afraid that they were gone… Sure, I wouldn't be bothered by fanatics anymore, but I wasn't even sure what this man wanted with me… Some company would have been nice.

"Now, Serena, dear, take a seat." Crowler's voice made me turn around. He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. I slowly sat on it. I kept looking between him and the other man back and forth. "Why did you want to see me?" I finally decided to ask.

"You're Italian?" The short man suddenly asked. My eyes landed on him. His accent sounded different… Like a French one. "I am." I said coldly. "She _is_ Benjamin's cousin, Bonaparte." Crowler reminded the man. Bonaparte… That explained the French accent. It also explained why he was named like Napoleon, considering his… _Lower than average_ height.

"I heard a lot of interesting things about Italians…" Bonaparte looked at me from head to toe while folding his arms. I didn't like the way he said those words… It was obvious his proud, French roots were kicking in. "Like?" Crowler suddenly looked at him curiously. "They're mobsters and terrible drivers." He replied matter-of-factly with this look of pride on his face.

I couldn't help feeling offended. Generalizing all Italians and saying stereotypes (false ones, in fact) right in someone's face was _not _nice! True, there _were_ mobsters after all, and _some _of the people were bad drivers…. But not everyone was like that!

"I heard a lot of interesting things about French people too." I spoke up nonchalantly while folding my arms. I could tell all of them _right now_…. But I didn't want to start arguing over stereotypes. The man in front of me _was_ sort of my neighbor after all… He did get on my nerves, but I would try to ignore it. If he went too far, then I'd react.

Bonaparte's eyes landed on me. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something… Only to be cut off by Crowler. "Forget about French and Italians! We've got more important things to discuss!" He shouted.

"I still don't know why you called me here." I pointed out with a frown. "Ah, yes," He turned back to me with a huge grin all over his face. "Serena Accardi, our new second-year student!" He said excitedly. My eyebrows furrowed. Why in the world was he so excited? I didn't understand a thing by now!

"How long have you been dueling?" Crowler asked. "Well… For about two years, I'd say." I shrugged my shoulders. "Then you really must be that good!" He shouted, sounding even more ecstatic. "_Mon Dieu_." Bonaparte face palmed and looked away from the other man. I, on the other hand, was looking between those two back and forth.

This was getting even more confusing… _And frightening_. Here I was, trying to stay away from dueling, and this crazy man was telling me how I 'must be that good'? Was this island actually some sort of mental institution filled with lunatics?!

Suddenly, Crowler picked up the album from the floor. "Aster Phoenix came here an hour ago." He was literally jumping up and down in excitement. "And he requested to meet you immediately!" The man opened the thing in his hands and shoved it in my face.

I let out a yelp in shock and jumped back a few meters. However, I managed to see who was on the picture in the album. It was a silver-haired guy with intense blue eyes. He was dressed in what seemed to be silver, formal wear. It looked like he was about my age.

My eyes widened in surprise once I saw the picture. The guy was definitely familiar to me from somewhere…

_A guy came out of the room. As he passed next to Ben and me, he looked at both of us. His blue eyes scanned us from head to toe before he made his way towards the exit. "I… I can't believe it!" Ben suddenly cried in what seemed to be excitement. _

"_That was __**the**__ Aster Phoenix!" I rolled my eyes at Ben's words. "I still don't know who that is, but his name does sound kind of wicked with the 'Phoenix' surname." I chuckled in amusement, much to my cousin's annoyance._

"_Sartorius! Was that guy over there Aster Phoenix or my eyes are fooling me?!" Ben jumped up from the bench excitedly. "No, your eyes are fooling you." I commented sarcastically. He was about to jump on me. Luckily, Sartorius pulled him away before he could do that, saving me in process._

"_Ben was here too, but then he freaked out once he saw the 'Austin Phoenix' guy." I rolled my eyes. Sarina let out a laugh. "It's __**Aster**__, dear." She corrected me._

_I simply nodded at the question. "Sweet! We've talked a while ago, right after I had finished my duel with Aster Phoenix." Jaden Yuki smiled._

I remembered why he was so familiar the moment those events flashed through my mind. Yet, despite all of that happening, I never got to hear why exactly Ben was so obsessed with him… However… Was asking that question a clever idea? This man was freaking out so much already!

Letting out a sigh, I considered my options. I could just go, and not know anything about the guy. I could always ask Ben (_not_ a good idea, but it was still something) when he stopped being pissed with me. Finally, I could ask Crowler himself. None of the options were exactly ideal… But the third idea was definitely the safest one for me (Crowler freaking out was certainly _not_ my problem, and if I asked Ben, then it _would _be my problem since he'd strangle me).

"Sorry for asking… But who's exactly Aster Phoenix?" I spoke up. The moment I asked that question, Crowler's jaw dropped. He dropped the album and fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Bonaparte was looking between the man and me back and forth in what seemed to be amusement. "You don't know who _Aster Phoenix _is?!" Chancellor jumped up and asked me in disbelief.

I frowned. "I _do _know he's someone important, I just don't know _exactly_ why." I repeated the 'exactly' part, even putting emphasis on it. "He's a top-ranking professional duelist." Bonaparte explained calmly. "_And _this year's freshman!" Crowler added excitedly.

Raising an eyebrow, I couldn't help finding the whole thing absurd. Firstly, the idea of professionally playing with cards was just plain stupid. Why did it get so much recognition?! All they did was playing cards as their job! Not productive at all…

Secondly, if Aster Phoenix was so famous, then what was he doing at the Duel Academy as a freshman?! He was a _professional _duelist (that sounded so stupid, but I decided to just roll with it); he should have known everything by now! Thirdly, why would a famous duelist like him want to meet me? I _hated_ dueling, and I knew little about it!

"He requested to meet me immediately?" I repeated. I still found it a bit difficult to believe in this… "Yes!" Crowler chirped. "He said he'd be by the cliffs of the Slifer Red Dorm." Bonaparte added. "Don't make him wait!" Chancellor added.

I simply nodded. I still found this absurd, but I didn't want to listen to Chancellor and his French colleague anymore. This was enough for one day!

"Thank you." I said and hurried out of the office.

* * *

By the time I was in front of the Slifer Red Dorm, I could see Aster Phoenix pacing back and forth. Walking closer, my eyebrows furrowed. "You wanted to meet me here?" I spoke up, stopping near where he was pacing.

Once he heard my voice, the guy turned around and stopped in place. "You're… You're Serena Accardi?" His eyes widened for a few seconds. However, the look of surprise then quickly became a frown. However, I wasn't worrying about that. I had other things on my mind. "I am." I nodded.

"Now why did you want me to come?" I demanded with hands on my hips. "I want to have a duel with you." The young, professional duelist explained calmly. He was standing straight, and he had his hands in pockets of the silver suit.

The moment he said those words, I just stood there in shock. I couldn't even think for a few moments. This thing was getting more absurd as the day passed… _Why _would a professional duelist like Aster Phoenix want to duel me?!

"Is this some kind of a joke?" I demanded with a glare. "It's not." The silver-haired guy shook his head. "No offense, but why would you want that?" I folded my arms. The only reason I said 'no offense' was because I didn't want someone to hang my head against their wall if they saw me being disrespectful. Ben and Crowler freaking out was bad enough, I didn't need the whole Academy!

Aster Phoenix's blue eyes looked right into mine. "I heard about your deck, so I want to see it in action." He replied nonchalantly. I raised an eyebrow. True, my deck was given to Aunt Maria by the Pegasus guy when she won it in a tournament… But no one knew she had given it to me! It didn't even have a complete deck yet. Aunt Maria still had the other half of it with her!

I really didn't want to duel… However, it looked like this idiot was determined to duel me. I fought back a groan. If dueling would make him leave me alone, then I was up for it!

"If I agree, you'll leave me alone?" I asked coldly, looking into his eyes. "Yes, I will." He confirmed it. I kept looking at him for a few moments. I had a feeling he was lying about wanting to see my deck in action… But I wasn't going to bother with the thing. The sooner we finished this, the sooner I'd be alone again.

"Fine. Just let me get my Duel Disk." I nodded and ran to my room.

Once I ran out of it, I strapped the Duel Disk to my left arm and put my deck in its slot. Once we were far enough from each other, I pressed the button at the back of the Duel Disk. Its slot places lengthened, and the red light started glowing. Aster Phoenix activated his own one as well. I briefly touched the bracelet on my left wrist, hoping it would bring me luck I needed.

**Aster Phoenix: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"You can go first." I said while drawing five cards. "In that case, I'll summon Skelengel in Defense Mode." Some sort of a monster with ropes around its waist appeared on the field. It also had a crown on where I guessed would be its head, and a bow and arrow in its hands (**ATK/DEF:900/400**). I end my turn." The professional duelist did so.

Raising an eyebrow, I drew my sixth card. Finally, I looked at my hand filled with cards. I had an idea what to start with… Hopefully I'd get to kick his butt for him wanting to duel me. It wouldn't surprise me if I lost though, since he was apparently a pro…

"I'll summon Desert Fox in Attack Mode." I declared. A small fox with big ears appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**. "Then I'll set three facedowns and end my turn." I finished.

Aster Phoenix drew another card. "I activate 'The Sanctuary in the Sky'!" He declared. Suddenly the scenery changed. Instead of being in front of the dorm, it looked like we were in the clouds, in front of some sort of a temple. Those must have been those Field Spells... From what I remembered, they brought advantage to the opponent. I had to get rid of it…

"I summon Warrior of Zera in Attack Mode." The monster appeared for a few moments before disappearing from the field. "Then I'll sacrifice him to summon Archlord Zerato!" A monster with green wings, and a blade in his right hand appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:2800/2300)**.

"Now, by sacrificing one LIGHT monster, I can activate its Special Effect. It destroys monsters on your side of the field!" The guy declared while sending a card to his graveyard. That was when the sun struck my Desert Fox, destroying it in process.

Smoke and wind appeared while I covered my head and looked away. I knew the guy wanted to attack my Life Points… But, honestly, he has just helped me rather than made things harder for me. Now I would get to bring out other monsters on the field!

"Archlord Zerato, attack her Life Points!" Aster Phoenix ordered his monster. It was about to attack me, but I was ready. "I activate 'Call Of The Haunted'!" I cried, revealing my facedown. The Desert Fox appeared again in Attack Mode. However, it was soon destroyed, causing more smoke and wind as its destruction cost me some Life Points.

**Aster Phoenix: 4000 LP**

**Me: 2200 LP**

"Because you had destroyed my Desert Fox _twice_, that's as much times I can use her Special Effect." I looked up with a smirk. "When it's destroyed, I can get to summon either its relative, or another Desert type of monster." I explained the fox's effect. "So I'll use it to summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode and Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode!"

The plant appeared on the field in Defense Mode (**ATK/DEF:1000/500**). A grey wolf appeared in Attack Mode (**ATK/DEF:800/1500**).

"Summoning more than one monster during your turn is against the rules." Aster Phoenix said simply. I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed. Here he was, trying to educate me about a stupid card game… He was in way over his head.

"I _know_ summoning more than one monster is against the rules," I started, not bothering to hide my annoyance. "But this is Special Effect summoning we're talking about!" "No need to get so worked up." The guy frowned, making me blink in confusion. I didn't understand a thing by now. "I know that's a Special Effect; I just wanted to make sure."

I rolled my eyes at that answer. "Are you done or not?" I demanded. "I'll activate 'The Inexperienced Spy' to see one of your cards." The guy activated another card, making my eyes widen in surprise. Since when were people allowed to do that?! That was basically cheating!

One card flew out of my hand and turned towards the young duelist. It was… "'Fair in War?' Interesting." Aster Phoenix commented. I glared at him while the card flew back to my hand. I would have activated it, but I didn't want to risk my Life Points at the moment. They were already down to 2200 after all… Thankfully, he didn't see my other card. "I end my turn."

"About damn time." I growled while drawing another card. "By activating Mountain Wolf's Special Effect, it can attack you directly." I then declared. "Mountain Wolf, attack his Life Points!" I ordered with my hand lifted up. The wolf charged towards the duelist, and slashed at him with its claws.

**Aster Phoenix: 3200 LP**

**Me: 2200 LP**

"I activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy your Field Spell." I lifted up the card in my right hand. The temple and the clouds disappeared immediately, bring us back to the Slifer Red dorm. "Then I'll activate 'Card of Sanctity', which means both of us get to draw more cards until we have six of them."

I drew five cards while Aster Phoenix drew four of them with a frown on his face. I knew I was giving him more chances of winning by playing this. However, I was in desperate need of some cards if I wanted to use my monster properly.

"First, I'll summon Arctic Fox in Attack Mode." A big, white fox with small ears appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1800/1600**). I then looked at my remaining cards with a frown.

As much as I didn't want to risk my Life Points, using my card may have been the only way to actually help me win this thing… I would have to play risky this time. Not the best idea… But I had no choice.

"I activate 'Fair in War'." I declared, taking the card out of my left hand and lifting it up. The card glowed for a few moments before disappearing. "Both of us lose the amount of Life Points equal to the lowest amount of my monster's Attack Points." I explained calmly.

An explosion could be heard and smoke appeared. I quickly covered my face while my Life Points dropped to 1400.

**Aster Phoenix: 2400 LP**

**Me: 1400 LP**

"Then I'll sacrifice Mountain Wolf, Desert Rose, and Arctic Fox to summon my Desert Cobra!" I exclaimed while clenching my right fist. All of the monsters disappeared from my field. A giant-looking, black cobra appeared on the field. It hissed and bared its fangs (**ATK/DEF:0/0**).

"You might want to pay attention to this part," I then started, making the guy look right in my eyes. "My Desert Cobra may have zero points, but its Special Effect makes up for it. For each card I send to the graveyard from my hand, it gains 1000 points."

I smirked. There was another effect this monster had, but I hopefully wouldn't need it at the moment. "Since I'll send four of them, that means the cobra will gain 4000 points." At that moment, black light started glowing around its body, as its Attack Points grew (**ATK/DEF:4000/0)**. "Go, Desert Cobra, attack Archlord Zerato!" I cried.

The cobra hissed and quickly started gliding towards the monster. It bit it with its fangs, destroying the monster in process. I quickly checked my gear to see how many points the guy had lost.

**Aster Phoenix: 1200 LP**

**Me: 2200 LP**

I couldn't help smirking. I was only 1200 points away from winning…. All he had to do was try to attack my monster… "I end my turn."

Aster Phoenix drew another card. "I'll summon Shining Angel in Attack Mode." An angel with double, golden wings appeared on the field. He was dressed in white (**ATK/DEF:1400/800**). "I'll set a facedown and end my turn."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That must have been a good trap there… I kind of expected from him to try to beat my cobra, and then I'd be able to use my 'Flowing Back' trap… A bit odd. However, I wasn't complaining. In case he did use his facedown, I had two of them as well. That was why I was going to attack.

I drew another card without looking at it. I already knew what I wanted to do after all, I wouldn't need it. "Desert Cobra, attack Shining Angel!" I ordered.

The cobra glided towards the angel while hissing, before biting it with its fangs. Smoke appeared as the monster was destroyed, taking away the rest of Aster Phoenix's Life Points.

**Aster Phoenix: 0 LP**

**Me: 2200 LP**

I deactivated my Duel Disk. The monsters disappeared from the field. Aster Phoenix did so as well while I took my facedowns and the deck out of the device. However, I still found this a bit confusing. This guy was supposed to be a professional duelist… Surely, he could have done a lot more to try to win? He didn't even use his facedown!

Maybe I didn't know much about professional dueling… But if people freaked over him so much, he must have been really good. He could have beaten me for all I knew! That, or he was just overhyped? I doubted the latter was the case, yet… Something about this was really fishy.

"Not bad." Aster Phoenix's voice brought me back to reality. He had walked over to me, looking at the cards in my hand. The guy had a polite smile on his face. I could tell it wasn't a genuine one. I used that identical smile whenever I wanted to remain polite with people I didn't want to talk to. Maybe he was pissed I had won? Or was it something else?

I looked up at the guy, my light blue eyes meeting his sharp blue ones. "Thanks… I guess." I replied awkwardly and quickly put the deck back in my Deck Box. "Where did you get those cards?" He asked in what seemed to be curiosity. "My aunt gave them to me." I said with no further explanation.

He simply nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. "Since that's it, I'd better get going." He said, getting ready to turn around and walk away. However, I then realized something. Since I saw him back at Sarina's and Sartorius' place, and since the latter and the guy seemed to know each other… I could ask him whether he heard anything about him!

The reason why I hadn't thought of it earlier was because I was so annoyed with Crowler, and then the whole dueling thing… I should have thought about this sooner!

"Wait," I said, stopping Aster Phoenix from leaving. He looked at me expectantly. "Since my cousin and I had seen you at one place earlier…" I started while playing with one of my red strands. "I was wondering if maybe you had heard something from a man named Sartorius." I explained awkwardly.

The guy's eyebrows furrowed, a frown appearing on his face. "What do you mean?" He asked. I stayed quiet for a few moments. I didn't really want to explain my current situation with those two… Yet I still had to say something. He asked me what I had meant, after all.

"I haven't seen or heard from Sartorius and his sister for quite some time. But you and Sartorius know each other, which is why I had thought you had an idea where they are right now." I explained hesitantly.

Those words earned me a _brief_ stare from Aster Phoenix. A brief one, but still noticeable. "No. I haven't heard anything from him either." He responded coldly before turning around. The silver-haired guy then started walking away.

I was looking at his disappearing form in both puzzlement and disbelief. My only chance of finding out more about those two's whereabouts was gone…

* * *

I returned to my room. One part of the Slifer Red dorm was being renovated at the moment, so I took a chance while there was no noise to spend some time there. Besides, it wasn't like I was slacking off, since classes for today have already finished.

Once I threw myself at bed, I took my album and started looking through it. I haven't looked through it completely yet… Therefore, it was no surprise once I found there a picture I had never seen before. My eyebrows furrowed once I took it in my hands.

There were three people in it. One of them was Aunt Maria when she was younger. Her long, dark brown hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing a white dress. My aunt and other two people were sitting on a bench and smiling at the camera.

My eyes landed on two unknown people. One of them was a woman, the one on my aunt's left. She had long, blond hair, and brown eyes. The woman was dressed in a casual blue, short-sleeved shirt and a dark blue skirt.

The other person, the one on Aunt Maria's right, was a man. He had dark hair, and piercing blue eyes. Glasses were on his face. The man was wearing a short-sleeved, dark brown shirt with a collar and pants.

From what I could see, all three of them were around the same age… Yet I couldn't figure out who the other two people were. However, that didn't stop me from staring at those two. I didn't even know why. It was just weird…

No. I've worried enough for one day. I had to clear my mind, and just forget about everything for at least five minutes!

Carefully putting the picture back in the album, I let out a sigh. I then closed the album and left it on my bed. Right after that, I walked out of the room.

* * *

While I was passing other rooms, I could hear some commotion inside one of them. The room had door open, so that pretty much explained it. Once I was in front of the room, I took a moment to observe its interior.

Jaden, Syrus, and Chazz were inside with another guy I hadn't seen before. He was muscular, and seemed to be of African American or mixed race. A bandanna with dinosaur's face on it was covering his black dreadlocks. Earrings were hanging from his ears, and a necklace was around his neck. His Ra Yellow uniform was slightly different from the usual one. The blazer was a duller shade of yellow with no sleeves, and a green shirt underneath. He was wearing beige combat pants and white wristbands.

I raised an eyebrow. What an outfit… The guy looked as if he had just come out of the military. Maybe it was supposed to look like that… Anyway, that wasn't my problem.

Suddenly, all of them stopped talking and turned around to look at me. I looked at Chazz, Syrus and the guy for a few moments, not bothering to see their reactions. My eyes then landed on Jaden, who was looking right at me. However, I paid no attention and walked away from the room without another word.

By the time I got downstairs, I was about to head towards the cliff, when… "Serena!" I turned around to see Jaden running towards me. When he was right in front of me, he stopped to take a breath with hands on his knees.

"What do you want?" I raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to think. At hearing those words, the brown-haired guy straightened up and looked at me. "We never found out why Crowler wanted to see you." He pointed out. "And that's why you came running to me?" I raised both of my eyebrows at him.

Jaden shook his head. "I came because I wanted to talk to you. Isn't that what friends do after all?" He asked me cheerfully. By now, I was completely caught by surprise. "Friends?" I repeated slowly. "Yes, you're my friend after all." He smiled genuinely.

By now, I was staring at him. To think he even considered me as a 'friend' after everything I had done to him so far… The guy was… "If you say so." I finally said with a frown. He wasn't my friend; I had _none_ of them. I just couldn't bring myself to be rude and tell him that in face, especially after how genuine his words were…

Why? I couldn't stop wondering. Why would a dueling fanatic like him even try to befriend someone like me? I hated dueling, and all fanatics ever did was talking about cards over and over! They never worried about anything else other than that! _Everyone _was like that in general…

I started walking without another word. "Why did Crowler want to see you?" Jaden asked while walking next to me. "About something stupid." I waved it off with a frown, remembering my duel with Aster Phoenix.

That was when it hit me. Jaden _did_ say he had dueled him before… "Say," I spoke up with my arms folded, making him look at me curiously. "You said you had dueled Aster Phoenix?" I asked carefully. "Yup." He replied with hands behind his head. "Who won in the end?"

"I did." The brown-haired guy shrugged. "However, he wasn't using his real deck. Dorothy told me that he had bought those cards in her shop that morning." He frowned. My eyes widened in surprise. I knew something was wrong… That meant he was using cheap cards against me as well for some reason… He let me win. That's why he didn't even activate that facedown!

I looked at the sky, feeling utterly perplexed. Everything made sense now… Yet, at the same time, it didn't. Why would a professional duelist like him lose on purpose? He was hiding something…

"Why are you asking anyway?" Jaden looked at me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Oh," I looked away from the sky. "Nothing. It's just that Crowler was freaking out about him the whole day, that's why." I partially lied. Crowler freaking out _was_ true. However, no one had to know about my part in him losing his mind.

He let out a laugh. "Good ol' Crowler…" He mused, suddenly stopping to look at the ocean. Wind started blowing, ruffling my already messy hair. I paid no attention to it though. Instead, my gaze moved to the ocean.

"Slacker, we need help over here!" Chazz's voice could suddenly be heard, making us turn around towards the source of the voice. It was coming from the dorm. "I'd better get going then. See you, Serena!" Jaden winked at me with a grin and a salute, making me blink in surprise. He then started running towards the Slifer Red dorm.

My eyes wandered over to the ocean yet again. I wanted to enjoy this peace and quiet. Even though some things were still unclear to me, I knew there was a reason why Aster Phoenix was being so secretive. And I was going to find out why.

**Well, that's it for this chapter! I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	11. Catching Up

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) That's exactly what I'm looking forward to writing, because, honestly, Serena isn't really aware of what duelists like poor Zane in the future can be lol. I won't spoil much about that, but I think she'd take everything back if she saw Zane lmao.**

**Anyway, this chapter takes place during 'Sad But Truesdale'. **

**I only own my OC's!**

"_I think I'm going crazy." A girl's voice echoed. "Why?" The boy's voice asked curiously. "I… I keep seeing some weird spirits whenever I take these things in my hand. It's scary." The girl explained, fear in her voice present._

_The boy let out a laugh. "Why's that funny to you? I wasn't joking!" The girl exclaimed. "I know you weren't." He told her reassuringly. "So, you don't think I'm crazy?" She asked hopefully. "If you __**were**__, then I'd be as crazy as you." The boy started laughing. "Wait…" The girl stopped him. "That means…" "Yes, I can see them too." He confirmed her suspicions._

Sun rays coming through the room's window woke me up. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in the bed. Thankfully, we had no classes today… I could stay in bed whole day if I wanted. Unfortunately, I couldn't, since I was pretty much back to my senses by now.

Standing up, I stretched out my arms for a few seconds. Then I grabbed my hairbrush and walked into the bathroom. I started brushing my hair.

Pretty much nothing changed since the day Aster Phoenix came here (a few days ago). Ben was still kind of pissed with me, and I kept trying to avoid people here on campus. Since we had no classes, I decided to go outside and do something productive. I might as well go around exploring, and collect some flowers from this island…

**Third Person's POV**

It was a busy day in Domino City. Sun was shining brightly. People were walking through streets. They were either running to their jobs, or hanging out with their friends and colleagues. There was also a lot of tourists, who wanted to see the King Of Games' hometown.

Even though Maria Accardi lived and worked in California, she was in Domino City for one day. She had just finished running an errand for the president of company where she worked. Right now, she was dressed in her blue business suit for women.

Just as she was near the centre, the woman noticed Domino City Plaza was unusually empty. It was a bit odd to her. When she visited this place a few years ago, it would always be filled with tourists or duelists. There wouldn't be a day the City Plaza was empty. Then again, it's been quite a while since she last visited Domino City…

This place held a lot of memories for the Italian woman. Back then, she would visit it quite frequently. It's here that she met some of her closest friends. Here, she met Sarina and Sartorius, and other two people she used to be close to. Since then, a lot of things changed. She lost contact with those two first, and now with the siblings as well.

It's here that her niece was born, which was another reason why she had visited this place so often. But then, life got in the way.

Maria let out a sigh while reminiscing of those times. Things really changed as years went by… However, she always cherished those memories. She knew there were also bad memories, but she paid no heed to them. The best thing to do was to always remember good things. She couldn't ignore bad ones, but she didn't want to remember them either. The woman would acknowledge them, and focus on good things.

Just as she was walking through the Domino City Plaza, Maria stopped to look at the clock in the middle of the place. Right now, it was 12 o'clock. The woman took a moment to enjoy how quiet everything was.

"Maria?" A female voice gasped. The Italian woman quickly turned around in confusion. She had no idea who was calling her.

Right there, next to the clock, stood a woman. She was dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt with a collar and long, black skirt. Her eyes were brown, and her short, blond hair was loose. A look of disbelief was on the woman's face.

Her eyebrows furrowing in thought, Maria walked closer to her. "You don't recognize me?" The woman guessed with a small smile. Scanning her from head to toe, Maria looked in woman's eyes with a frown. "Wait a moment…" She finally trailed off.

Finally, a look of realization appeared on her face. "Naomi Suzuki?!" A huge grin replaced the previous look. "Long time no see, Maria Accardi." The woman grinned back. "I… I can't believe it!" The Italian woman exclaimed, dropping her briefcase to the ground. She immediately hugged the woman tightly, who hugged her back the same way.

"It's been _nine _years since I last saw you!" Maria pointed out once they pulled away. "Far too long." Naomi sighed. Her eyes landed on the briefcase. "You're going to work?" She asked disappointed. Maria shook her head. "I was running an errand for Maximillion Pegasus." She explained.

The blonde woman looked up in surprise. "You're still working for Industrial Illusions?" She then smiled, earning a nod from the other woman. "Then I guess you have to get going?" "I've just finished it. I think I can sit down to talk, since my flight's leaving in four hours." Maria stated.

A grin appeared on Naomi's face. "Then let's sit in the café over there." She pointed at the nearest place next to Domino City Plaza. "Deal." Maria grinned back.

* * *

Once they found an empty place inside the café, two women looked at each other. "I can't believe we're in this place again…" Naomi smiled. "Except that few people are missing." Maria noted with a sad look on her face. "You're right." The blonde woman let out a sigh.

"I haven't heard from Sarina or Sartorius for few years," She then stated. "What about you?" "I was in contact with them until last year." Maria explained while folding her arms. "What happened?" Naomi gave her a perplexed look. "That's what I'd like to know as well..." Her friend trailed off.

She noticed Naomi staring at her. "For some reason, they just stopped calling. Even their old house is on sale. It's as if they disappeared." Naomi rubbed the back of her head once she heard those words. "Odd…" She commented.

"Things just haven't been the same since Hiro disappeared. It's from then things started getting worse." Maria put a hand on her forehead, brushing away her dark brown bangs. "Have you heard anything about his son since then?" Naomi wondered.

The Italian woman nodded. "When Hiro disappeared, Kyle Jables became his son's legal guardian." She put her hands on the table. "Kyle Jables?" Naomi repeated, knowing she had heard that name somewhere before. "He's better known as 'The D'." Maria told the woman the man's stage name.

Naomi's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait… It's that professional duelist?" She asked to make sure, earning a nod from her friend. The blonde woman frowned. "Who let that man become his guardian? He was a famous duelist even back then! How could he look after a child and duel in the Pro League?" She demanded.

Maria rolled her eyes. "That's what Sartorius and I've been wondering ever since then." She replied coldly. She could still remember that day. Even though she did her best to try to become a legal guardian of her son's friend, for some reason, the judge deemed it a better decision to give that role to 'The D' instead.

She had met Hiro's son a few times when he was a kid. The poor child had only his father to look up to. Back then, the child was happy whenever he saw him. However, it all changed when Hiro disappeared. The day they discussed who his legal guardian should be, the poor boy was sitting on the bench and crying his eyes out.

Since then, Maria's time of seeing her friend's son became limited. Other problems appeared in her life, combined with full-time job at the Industrial Illusions. It's there that she met Hiro in the first place. He used to be one of her closest colleagues.

Sartorius, on the other hand, kept visiting the little boy. He even tried to take him in, but The D didn't allow that. From what Sartorius described to Maria, she knew The D wasn't looking after the boy the way he was supposed to.

The child had no friends; he wasn't even allowed to go outside without The D. He wasn't allowed to have any contact with other people that weren't approved by the duelist. It was only luck he approved of Sartorius to keep visiting him and keep the poor child from going insane in the building. Whenever The D was absent, he would remain alone. And that happened a lot.

From the way he behaved, both Maria and Sartorius were convinced the famous duelist had mental illness or something. However, seeing the judge was insane as well, there was nothing they could do.

Naomi let out a sigh. "If I remember correctly, the child's name is Aster?" Maria nodded. "And now he's a top-ranking duelist in the Pro League." She added. The woman's eyes widened. "A pro duelist at such young age…" She trailed off. "That's impressive." "It is." The Italian woman had to agree with her. "It would be even better if I somehow managed to remain in contact with him…." She put hands on her head.

"There was nothing you could do. The D must have probably paid the judge, or something." Naomi put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Most probably," Maria agreed. "But I still wish I could have stayed in contact with him, for his father's sake at the very least." She then said sadly.

"Well, from what I heard, he's the Duel Academy's freshman." Naomi commented. "Where did you hear that?" The woman looked up; her eyes wide. "It was all over the news a few days ago. Chancellor made sure for it to come out in every newspaper possible."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't that surprise me…" She wondered aloud sarcastically. "To be fair, Aster attending school _is_ a good publicity. Not that they should use him or students for that, but still…" Naomi let out a laugh. "In other words, it's a circus down there in Southern Japan." The dark-brown-haired woman concluded. "Pretty much." The blonde one agreed.

"I heard Aster and a new pro named Zane Truesdale should have a duel soon." She then said quietly. "When's that?" Maria asked in surprise. "In about two weeks." Naomi guessed.

A small smile then appeared on her face. "How's Serena doing?" At hearing those words, the Italian woman looked at her hands sadly. "Not well, I'm afraid." She said simply. "What happened after that day?" The blonde woman asked her with a sympathetic look on her face.

Maria looked up, right into her brown eyes. "As soon as they got a chance, her parents forbade her from playing with _Duel Monsters_. Chiara even ripped her cards apart." She stated, making Naomi look at her in astonishment. "Then they forbade her to play with anyone who possessed _Duel Monsters_. Seeing everyone had them, they practically isolated her from the rest of the world."

She quickly brushed off few brimming tears. "I told them not to do it. Even Luca tried to make his brother see reason. However, they refused to listen." She sighed. "And so, Serena started hating _Duel Monsters_ and anyone who had them. Her hatred for the cards slowly became hatred for everyone." Maria continued. "She started judging the whole world, deeming them as fanatics. She never wanted to make any friends after that."

"Wow…" Naomi whispered in shock. "It's crazy what isolation can do to people. When she was a kid, she just used to be so happy all the time." She put hands on her chin while looking at the table. "It's always easier to hate something than to grieve over it. When hatred gets the better of you, it's hard to let go." Maria agreed sullenly. "And at such young age…" Her friend trailed off, still not wanting to believe this. "So she grew up without friends?"

"Yes. Sartorius and Sarina were there to look after her during her parents' absence. She considers them a family, so it doesn't count. Ben, Luca and I were there from time to time, but that's pretty much it. Ben went to different school, so she was all alone during school." The woman nodded.

Naomi frowned. "But then where is she right now?" She demanded. "Right now, both Ben and Serena are at the Duel Academy." Maria explained calmly. Her friend looked at her wide-eyed. "_What_?!" That only earned her a nod. "I didn't know…" "Serena's just transferred there as a second-year. Ben's been at the Academy since the beginning."

Seeing Naomi was quiet, Maria knew the woman was trying to process the newfound information. Finally, she looked up. "But what is she doing there if she hates it so much?" "Her parents forced her to attend it, saying it'd be good for her. As soon as she graduates, she'll be able to do whatever she wants." The Italian woman frowned.

"What about Roberto and Chiara? How are they?" Naomi asked. Maria couldn't help smiling. Even after everything, Naomi still cared about their wellbeing… Sometimes, she wished the whole world could be as compassionate as her friend. "They're doing as well as they're able to." Maria finally said. "I'm sorry." The blonde woman sighed. "And your husband? And Ben?"

Maria looked up. "Luca is not doing well with his job… He's getting sick a lot these days." That earned her a concerned look. "Ben loves Duel Academy, and he's enjoying his time there. Before he and Serena had left though, I asked him to help me." Those words got Naomi's attention. "I asked him to try to get Serena to socialize with other people. But, from what I heard, it isn't going well. He's angry with her."

"Ah, yes. I know about his sulking." Naomi nodded in understanding. "But even though he's angry with her, he had hoped him ignoring her will show Serena that being alone doesn't help anyone. Again, no luck though."

Then, a small smile appeared on her face. "What about Ken? How is he doing?" Naomi sighed. "He's fine," She started. "And what about him?" Maria suddenly asked. "He... He's doing as well as he's able to. A lot better during the last few years though." She stated while looking at her nails. "I'm sorry." Maria apologized sincerely. "It wasn't your fault back then, so stop apologizing." The woman looked at her sternly.

Maria sighed. "Forget about that now, I'm just glad to see you again." Naomi stood up and walked to where her friend was sitting. Maria stood up and pulled the woman into yet another tight hug.

**Serena's POV**

By the time I got downstairs, I could see Chazz walking closer with a camera in his right hand. "The Chazz presents: 'The Lame Life'!" He declared, his camera zooming in on me because I was in front of him. I raised an eyebrow with a frown.

"Princeton, _what the hell_ are you doing?" I demanded in annoyance. "Isn't it obvious, Accardi?" The black-haired guy demanded, stopping in place. I looked at him and his camera back and forth incredulously. I _hated_ being filmed… He'd better turn that thing off.

"No, it's _not_ obvious." I glared. "I'm pitching my life as a reality show!" He shook his head in disbelief at my lack of knowledge. I was staring at him incredulously. Reality show? He was serious?! "Wow…" I trailed off sarcastically.

"In that case, turn off the damn camera!" I then shouted, covering it with my hands. "Hey, hands off my camera!" Chazz objected while pulling it out of my reach. "Then _turn it off_!" I repeated angrily. "Or maybe you could get out of my way while I'm filming?" The guy pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

By now, I was willing to agree with that, if it meant he'd delete the previous footage of me. "That could work too." I glared. "If you want drama, then go film the Trio of Maniacs up there! They've been arguing about showers and nightlights for an hour now, and everyone can hear them!" I then added while folding my arms in annoyance.

"You mean, Slacker and his two best buddies?" Chazz raised an eyebrow at me. "Yes." I nodded with a frown. "_That_, I ought to see." He smirked, getting ready to turn on the camera… Only for me to grab it. "Hey, what's your problem?!" He demanded. "I'll give you back the camera if you promise to delete footage with me." I declared.

Chazz groaned in annoyance. "Fine, I'll do it. Just give me back my camera!" He shouted. I quickly did so with a frown on my face. Then I walked away from the dorm to avoid hearing more arguing from those fanatics.

* * *

By the time I was back from my little walk, I could see… _Ben _in front of the dorm, along with the girl from their group.

"Ben, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise, making both of them turn around. The girl looked at me, and then at my cousin. "You go in, I'll come in five minutes." He told her. She nodded and started walking upstairs with a bag in her hands.

My eyes landed on the suitcase Ben was pulling along with him. "What's going on?" I demanded with a frown. "Alexis and I are moving into the Slifer Red dorm, that's what's going on." Ben explained impatiently.

By now, I was utterly astonished. What business did two Obelisk Blues have at this dorm?! I didn't understand a thing… But, the new roommate of Jaden and Syrus wasn't exactly a Slifer either, he was from Ra Yellow… I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Why everyone wanted to be here, I had no idea. I bet Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue dorms had better rooms, better bed, better food, better _everything_!

"Why?" I demanded. "Because Crowler has officially lost his mind." My cousin rolled his eyes. I knew about that information the moment I came into his office… Therefore, I still didn't understand what exactly he was referring to. "Care to elaborate it?" I folded my arms expectantly.

At that moment, Ben's cheeks turned red. By now, I was even more confused. Why in the world was he _blushing_?! "Crowler wanted Alexis to form a pop singing duo with her brother. He wanted me to sing as well." He finally said in one breath.

I was looking at him for a few moments, taking it in. Then I burst in an uncontrollable laughter. I couldn't control myself, the whole idea sounded just ridiculous!

"It's _not_ funny!" Ben hissed at me, his whole face turning red. "So Crowler wants you three to be singers instead of duelists? He really _did_ lose it!" I literally screamed from laughter. "He wants us to sing _while_ dueling." He corrected me. That only made me burst in laughter yet again.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you," Ben commented with annoyance in his voice evident. "Since Crowler pretty much mentioned you as well." Those words made me stop laughing immediately. "What for?" I asked perplexed.

Ben sighed. "He wanted you to sing along with me." WHAT?! I was staring at my cousin as if he had grown two more heads. This was ABSOLUTELY CRAZY…

"YOU'RE SERIOUS?!" I shouted in shock, making him flinch and cover his ears. "Yup," He nodded with hands still over his ears. "He wanted you and I to team up, or even make a quartet with Alexis and Atticus. Actually, I'm not sure anymore, since he might come up with something even crazier." He shook his head in disbelief.

I kept looking at him. "Have you told him I'm a terrible singer?" I asked slowly. "I didn't," Ben responded, making me groan. "You don't sound bad when you sing. It's _me_ who's an even worse singer!" He argued. "You should have just told him both us are bad at singing!" I retorted.

I couldn't help panicking. First, I was forced to attend stupid Duel Academy. Second, a professional duelist wanted to duel me for an unknown reason. And third, the Chancellor wanted me to freaking sing for whatever damn reason he had! The third thing was _so_ messed up… I really wanted either to either jump into the ocean, or get off this island…

"I told him I didn't want to take part in it, and I said the same for you." Ben finally said. "Thank you." I looked at my lifesaver. "It's nothing, as long as we're far away from Crowler." He shook his head with a small smile. "Does… Does that mean we're on speaking terms again?" I asked, realizing he wasn't ignoring me anymore. "I guess we are." He shrugged.

I knew that meant he forgave me, so I ignored that shrug. The most important thing was we were talking again. "Why did Crowler want that anyway?" I asked. "Most probably for the school's publicity." Ben guessed.

"Now, I've got to ask others whether there's some space left for me in the dorm." He took his suitcase. I followed him upstairs, just as the girl, Chazz, Jaden, Syrus and the other guy came out of the just renovated part of the dorm. I haven't been inside, but I was thankful I didn't have to listen to noise anymore.

"Hey, Ben." Jaden greeted. "Alexis has just told us about what Crowler wanted to do with you and her." Syrus said sympathetically. "Please don't remind me, I just had to explain it to Serena." Ben shivered at the thought of him and I singing. Not that I could blame him, since it would be awful. Imagine me and Ben just dueling there, and singing Italian songs when…

NO. I couldn't imagine that. I quickly shook my head to get rid of those embarrassing thoughts.

"What did you tell him?" Chazz wondered. "I told him I wanted no part in it, just like Alexis. I was hoping I could also come into your dorm…" Ben rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Alexis is already in the new part of the dorm, and all the other rooms are full." The black-haired boy told him.

Ben let out a groan. "Great…" He face palmed. "Maybe we could find a pull-out bed or something. Then Ben could stay with Syrus, Hassleberry and me." Jaden suddenly suggested. At hearing his friend's words, a smile appeared on my cousin's face. "You think that could work?" He asked hopefully. "The more, the merrier!" Jaden grinned. "Then great!" My cousin grinned back, dropping his suitcase (with a _loud_ thud that made all of us jump back).

"Although those two could learn to get along first…" Jaden then mused, glancing at Syrus and the other guy. "Is it that bad?" The girl raised an eyebrow. "Accardi said literally everyone could hear them arguing about showers and nightlights. My recording just proves it." Chazz said while looking at me. I huffed and folded my arms while looking away.

Before anyone could say anything else, I could hear someone shouting. "GUYS!" Bastion's voice made us turn around in confusion. He ran upstairs to where we were. I noted that he seemed to be in a hurry…

"Is something wrong?" Jaden asked curiously. "I was looking for Syrus." Bastion explained, making the short guy's eyes widen. "Me? What for?" He questioned in confusion. "For _a duel_." He got his answer from Bastion.

My eyebrows furrowed. The rest of them were looking at the British guy, and they looked as perplexed as me. "Let's just go inside and I'll explain everything." He told us. The rest of them nodded and started walking towards the renovated part of the dorm.

I, on the other hand, decided not to go with them. I had nothing to do with those fanatics; I was there during their conversation _only _to keep Ben company.

"Are you coming?" My cousin turned around to look at me. "No, you go inside." I put a forced smile on my face. "Serena…" He trailed off with a frown. "Just go, and we'll catch up later. Okay?" I urged him to go inside. "Fine." He finally sighed.

I sighed in relief once he walked inside after the rest of them.

Then I ran to my room.

* * *

That night, I joined other students for dinner. When I sat there, Chazz, the girl, the guy, Bastion and Jaden sat inside. Ben sat right across me. "What do you usually have here?" He asked me curiously. "Fried shrimp." I smiled and started baring my hands. I just wanted damn food to come already, since I was _starving_…

However, I accidentally took one part of glove off my hand, revealing the bracelet under my glove. Frowning, I slowly pulled the bracelet down so I could put the glove on again, when…

"_Now you'll never forget me, cause' you'll always have it with you!" _Those words suddenly flashed through my mind.

I was looking at the bracelet in astonishment. It was that hallucination again… But why did it appear once I touched the bracelet?

"What's that?" Ben suddenly asked me curiously, looking at where my glove had been. "Oh, it's nothing!" I yelped and quickly put the glove on my hand.

My cousin raised an eyebrow at me. However, before he could say anything, food finally arrived. That was when Syrus walked in, now dressed in the Ra Yellow outfit for some reason (none of my concern, really, I was just observing).

Since he and the other guy started arguing about a seat, I decided to eat my shrimps as fast as possible. I couldn't listen to their arguing anymore; they had been close to giving me a headache earlier!

As soon as I finished eating, I said 'good night' to Ben and ran out of the room. Just in time, actually, since it looked like the fight between those two was about to become quite ugly.

Letting out a sigh, I took the glove off my left hand to look at the bracelet on my wrist. _"Now you'll never forget me, cause' you'll always have it with you!" _Those words were echoing in my head yet again. This happened after I had touched the bracelet…

Up until now, I didn't know what to think of this. It could have been some sort of a hallucination, which is what I considered it to be until this moment.

The voice said 'you'll never forget me'… What if I _was _forgetting something? It definitely made more sense than the idea of hallucinations… If me forgetting something _was_ the case, then _what_ was it, and _why _couldn't I remember it?

**Another chapter done! We got some more insight on certain characters, and the introduction of another one… I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	12. Troubles In Neighborhood

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) That's what Serena pretty much wants to know as well lol… Actually, she **_**would **_**move if she were able to. However, as Chazz said in the previous chapter, all rooms are full (which is why Ben has to hide from Crowler with Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry). Plus, Serena's grades are not good enough for Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, and running away would just anger her parents. Then they'd put her into another school, which is why she realizes she has to deal with 'hell' nonetheless XD. Most probably try to flee (or avoid dueling), and think 'you fanatics are nothing compared to this guy', **_**but **_**refuse to admit it to Ben or someone else. ;)**

**This chapter takes place during episode 'The Demon' and partially during 'A New Breed Of Hero: Part One'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

It was a warm, November morning. Sun was shining brightly on Duel Academy's campus. Letting out a yawn, I closed the door of my room. I was still a bit tired from last night… It was because of some stupid nightmare I had.

After rubbing my eyes, I looked up at the sky. Thankfully, getting used to Southern Japan's climate was not a problem. It was always warm and sunny here, just the way I liked it.

Ever since Ben moved to Slifer Red dorm, things have definitely been easier. Fanatics thankfully managed to find a pull-out bed for him. Since then, I'd spend some time with my cousin while he wasn't with his friends. Sometimes, the room he and the Trio of Maniacs shared would be empty, so we'd talk there for hours. Then he'd leave with guys to do what he described as… 'Men activities'.

Seeing today was Saturday, I had a whole free day. I decided to look around the forest a bit, in hopes of finding some interesting plants. Except that there was one, small problem…

I accidentally left my herbarium in Ben's room last night. It meant I would have to go inside and get it. Thankfully, that wasn't a problem. Ben said I could always come in whenever I wanted. A small smile appeared on my face as I remembered those words.

Wasting no time, I raced to the door of my cousin's room and quickly opened them without knocking. However, that turned out to be a _huge_ mistake.

As soon as I opened the door, two heads turned around, right towards me. My eyes widened and my heart rate started going like crazy the moment I saw Syrus and the other guy. Both of them were… _Naked _in some sort of way…

The military guy was in underwear with his vest on, and Syrus was in the middle of putting on his pants with only one leg in.

My face must have been as red as my hair… Actually, I could _feel _it turning red! This was _so _embarrassing! I let out a scream and quickly covered my eyes. "GET OUT!" Syrus and the military guy shouted in unison, making me yelp in surprise. They sure w_ere_ loud…

"Fine, fine!" I exclaimed, taking hands off my eyes and looking away. "Could you just pass me the…" "OUT! NOW!" The military guy roared. Suddenly, I was hit by something _right_ into my face. I let out another yelp and quickly covered it, all while _not_ looking at _them_… But then I was hit by something else. By now, I couldn't see anything because my face was covered with some sort of clothing.

"OUT!" The guy roared for the third time. I wasted no time, running out and slamming the door (with something still over my face). I quickly took the thing off and ran away from the dorm the fastest I could in panic.

I could see some students coming out of their rooms. They must have heard their shouting and my screaming. However, I paid no attention to them. I ran even _further_ from the dorm.

* * *

Once I was in front of the main building, I let out a sigh and sat on the grass. I quickly covered my face while feeling utterly embarrassed. Just leave it to Serena Accardi to walk in on two fanatics while they were dressing up… The worst thing was I couldn't get _those_ details out of my head…

"Serena Accardi, _sei una idiota! CHE DUE PALLE?!_" I started screaming in Italian while shaking my head in hopes of getting unwanted, detailed pictures of those two being naked out of my head. It w_asn't _helping…

Looking down, I finally noticed what they had hit me with. It was Jaden's red blazer… My eyes widened to the size of saucers. That meant Jaden or one of those two would go looking for me, which meant I'd have to face one of them after _that _scene… Did the world hate me that much?!

"WHY? SERENA, WHY DID YOU TAKE BEN'S WORDS SERIOUSLY?!" I screamed in panic, remembering Ben's 'you can come in whenever you want' words. I _shouldn't _have taken him seriously… Look where that got me! He must have forgot seeing them naked was normal for him since he was a male, so him walking in on them _wouldn't _have been that bad… I, of course, was a different case.

But, on the other hand, now that I thought of it… They _couldn't_ blame for this. Ben had said I could come in, and, they should have locked the door! Therefore, I didn't care about what those two fanatics would say later.

Finally seeing I had some actual defense against two lunatics, I sighed in relief. However, my eyes widened yet again once they landed on the blazer in my lap. Those idiots… The first thing they had hit me with was a pillow, I felt it back then. However, was throwing their best friend's blazer necessary?! Now what was I going to do with this thing?!

Just as I was thinking about what to do with it, Ben suddenly ran to me. "Cousin, what happened?" He asked in confusion once he sat down, right across me. I couldn't resist it. I smacked the back of his head. "Ow!" He let out a yelp of both pain and surprise. "_Sei stupido_, that's what happened!" I growled at him.

"That's not the answer I had expected…" He pointed out with a frown. "It's the answer you get." I huffed. "Alexis, Chazz and I heard screaming coming from the room. When we got out to see what was happening, Syrus and Hassleberry were really angry… I couldn't even understand what exactly happened." My cousin rubbed the back of his head, still perplexed.

I sighed. "Since you so graciously told me I could come in whenever I wanted, I took your words seriously," I started with narrowed eyes. His green eyes widened, seeing where this was going. "And tried to get my herbarium from your room. However, I was met by the sight of the naked duo, hit by a pillow, and told to get out." I explained in annoyance.

"Told? They were shouting…" Ben reminded. "_Shouted at_, whatever floats your boat." I corrected myself unwillingly. His eyes then landed on my lap. "Is that what I think it is…" He started in astonishment. The only thing I could do at that moment was nod. "In case you see Maniac Number One, do tell him his co-maniacs have thrown his blazer at my face." I rolled my eyes.

At that moment, Ben burst in uncontrollable laughter. "And here…" He tried to say while laughing. "I was wondering…" I glared at him in annoyance. "Why in the world Jaden was…" By now, he managed to calm down a bit. "Walking around without his blazer. This is gold!" He cried in amusement while brushing off his tears.

"Your gold, my nightmare." I corrected him coldly. "Now, please," I handed the blazer to my cousin. "Give this back to your friend before I die from embarrassment." "Ah, NO!" Ben suddenly jumped up, away from me.

I looked at him annoyed. "Ben, this isn't time for joking. Just go and give this back to your friend." I repeated icily. "_You_ had been hit by that, not me." He said matter-of-factly. "But _you_ told me I could come in whenever I wanted. It's because of you I was assaulted in the first place!" I reminded impatiently. "It doesn't matter, _you_ were hit nonetheless!"

Finally losing all of my patience, I stood up from the ground. "Just take it!" I shouted. "No, I won't!" He started backing away from me. "Benjamin Accardi, _don't you dare_ leave me with this thing…" I started threateningly. "When you give it back to Jaden, say 'hi' to him for me!" He winked and started running away. "BENJAMIN!" I screamed after him to no avail. He was already gone…

"_PERCHÉ_?!" I then let out another scream of panic while tugging at my hair with my right hand (the left one was preoccupied with holding the damn blazer after all).

This morning was just crazy! First, I walked in on the fanatic duo, then I got assaulted by a thrown pillow and the third fanatic's clothing, and now Ben refused to help me… What did I do to deserve this?!

One thing was clear. I had _no_ intention of going back to that room. However, since my _dearest _cousin left me with this thing… That meant I couldn't avoid running into at least one of those maniacs either! My embarrassment was inevitable… Jaden would reasonably go looking for his missing uniform. If he found me, then I'd give it back. If he didn't, I'd give it to Ben… No, I'd _shove it _into Ben's hands and run away before he could do anything. That seemed like a solid plan…

Letting out a sigh of disbelief, I straightened up. Since I had no chance of getting my herbarium now, I had to drop today's plans. Ben had shown me where other dorms were (with the Obelisk Blue for girls being an exception, since he couldn't go in). I've seen most of the main building… Except for the card shop Ben had told me about.

I honestly thought I had no business there since I couldn't care less about stupid cards… However, since I couldn't go back to my dorm like this, and since I couldn't go to forest, this seemed like an interesting substitute. The sooner I saw what the card shop was like, the sooner I'd have no reason to ever go back in there.

* * *

After asking a Ra Yellow student for directions, I made my way through a hallway in the main building. Seeing students inside a huge room made me sure that was the shop, since this was the only place I hadn't seen here so far.

By the time I walked in, I could see a lot of Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and even Obelisk Blue students talking between themselves. Some of them were looking at cards on shelves. I immediately looked away from them.

My eyes landed on this giant cart in the middle of the shop. There seemed to be question marks on it. That, on the other hand, looked a bit interesting, especially since most of the students were gathered around it… I walked closer to the cart.

It was filled with something wrapped in paper… My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What in the world this was supposed to be, I had no idea. "May I help you?" A female voice asked from my left, making me yelp and jump back in surprise.

Looking up, I could see a stout woman with glasses smiling at me. Once I observed her better, I realized where I had seen her before. She was the woman from the cliff on my first day here! "Oh, well," I straightened up. Honestly, I wished no one asked me a thing, since I didn't really want to talk to people… But I also wanted to know what's up with the cart over there… Dang it!

"Why's everyone gathered around the cart?" I asked curiously. "That's drawbread." The woman smiled. However, all that did was make me stare at her perplexed. "The cart's filled with sandwiches of different kind," She smiled. "The students usually practice their drawing skills here by trying to draw the Golden Eggwich."

The more I was told, the more confused I was. What the heck was Golden Eggwich?! "What's that?" I asked while feeling like an utter idiot. The woman let out a laugh. "It's a sandwich made of a golden egg the Academy's Golden Hen lays only once per day." She explained. "Oh…" I trailed off. That part was clear to me now, even though the golden egg sounded a bit absurd to be honest…

"Who knows, maybe you get the chance to draw it." She then said cheerfully. I stood there for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, I could sense my stomach growling. Made sense since I had no breakfast after what had happened earlier… This Golden Eggwich thing seemed interesting, no matter how absurd it was. And I was so hungry right now…

"Fine, I'll purchase one." I finally said, giving the money to the woman. That was when her brown eyes landed on what I was holding in my hands. "If you don't mind me asking… Why are you holding that?" She asked in surprise. I could feel my face turning red. "I found it, so I'm looking for its owner." I lied, resisting the urge to cover my face with hair. "Oh. I understand." She nodded in understanding.

"Good luck with drawing!" She then winked before walking away. I was looking at her disappearing form for a few moments. She seemed nice for a dueling fanatic… I resisted the urge to facepalm at those thoughts. There was no such thing as nice fanatics!

Suddenly, I could see other students staring at me. My eyes widened once I realized why they were doing that. They must have noticed the blazer in my hand… I quickly covered my red face with hair in hopes of making it look like I wasn't blushing. However, from what I could see, that didn't stop them from looking at me.

"Don't you people have better business to do?!" I finally shouted. That certainly made them get the point, since they quickly turned around and continued doing their previous business. I let a sigh of relief before walking to the cart.

I quickly put the blazer in my right hand (since my left one was feeling numb from holding the thing all the time) and started waving with my left one. My eyes scanned the whole cart. Honestly, there were so many sandwiches in here… How could you draw the Eggwich one?! You would have to be damn lucky… However, I wasn't going to waste all of my money on this thing. One was more than enough, Golden Eggwich or not…

Finally, I decided to try my luck. I looked over the drawbreads before picking up one from the middle. I unwrapped it, not knowing what to expect… When golden light nearly blinded me. I yelped and quickly covered my eyes.

"Look at that!" "She had drawn it!" "How?!" "Why don't I have that luck?!" I could hear voices around me. Taking the left arm off my eyes, I finally got a good look at the thing in my hands. It was a sandwich, but it was shining in golden light… My eyes widened in astonishment. So this was the Golden Eggwich they were talking about…

Seeing I was suddenly in the center of attention, I made a run for it with the sandwich in my left hand and the blazer in my right one. I must have looked like a damn idiot… But I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there!

* * *

Once I was outside, I sat on grass and looked at the sandwich in my hand. Drawing this thing was sheer dumb luck! Seeing my stomach was growling like crazy, I finally decided to take a bite of the Golden Eggwich.

The taste was… Like one would expect from an egg, but there was something added that made it even more delicious than the usual one… A grin appeared on my face. This thing was so good!

Just as I was about to take another bite, a hand landed on my right shoulder. My heart beating like crazy, I let out a scream and tried to jump back while already sitting-the result was hitting my back and head against the ground. However, the sandwich in my hand luckily remained intact.

"Ouch…" I let out a groan since my head and back hurt like crazy. "Are you okay?" I let out another groan at hearing the familiar voice. Sitting up, I looked up to see… Yup, Jaden Yuki staring at me. The person I wanted to see the least today. Actually, it was more of a tie between him, Syrus and the military guy, but the point was clear…

"Why is it," I started in annoyance. "That every time I come across you, I either get a heart attack or some sort of physical damage?" I glared at him. "Oh, sorry about that…" The brown-haired guy rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. His blazer missing was quite noticeable. "Next time, if you _do_ want to talk, make it clear _in front _of me, _not_ from behind." I spoke up icily.

It was quiet for a few seconds. "Sorry." He said yet again. That was when his eyes landed on my hands. I closed my eyes in panic, waiting for the 'blazer' drama to begin… "Is that Golden Eggwich?!" He suddenly asked. I opened my eyes in surprise.

Here I was, holding a missing part of his uniform, yet he noticed the sandwich first?! I didn't know what else to do except nodding. "That means your draw is good." He grinned. "It was sheer dumb luck." I waved it off nonchalantly.

Finally, the guy noticed what I was holding in my right hand. "Is that…" He started in astonishment. My face must have been as red as my hair… But I did my best to ignore it. "Si." I nodded with a frown before standing up. I handed him the blazer which he took after a few moments. Finally, my hand was free after holding the thing for so long!

"How did it end up with you?" He looked up at me in confusion. "Blame it on your roommates. They thought hitting my face with it was a clever idea." I explained sarcastically. "So _that_'s what the shouting was about…" He concluded, still surprised. I simply nodded, not knowing what to say. "Well, thanks." He finally grinned.

I blinked in surprise while he was putting on the piece of clothing. He took it so casually… Seeing it was quiet, I started playing with the wrap around the sandwich. I didn't know what to say… I usually had a good excuse whenever I was around people, but this guy was obviously an exception to that for some reason…

"I'll just go then…" I finally managed to get something to come out of my mouth. "Why?" Jaden asked perplexed. "Because… Well…" I stammered. "I wanted to take a walk." I finally said while straightening up. "Then I'll come along." He said what I hoped he _wouldn't_.

However, seeing I had no other excuse on my mind right now, I stayed quiet. We started walking down the path. "Ben mentioned you a few times last year." Jaden spoke up. "He did?" I looked up at him questioningly once I swallowed another bite of the sandwich. That earned me a nod.

"How come you're from Japan if your parents are Italian?" He asked curiously. I frowned for a moment. "Both of them are from Rome. They moved to Japan because of better conditions. It's where they met, and it's where I was born." I said coldly. "Oh."

It was an awkward silence for a moment. "What about your friends?" "What about them?" I gave him a cold look. "Don't you miss them? You said you were forced to come here after all." He pointed out in confusion. I was looking into his chocolate brown eyes for a few moments, not even sure what was so interesting about them to me. They just were…

"I don't miss my friends," I finally looked away. "Because I don't have them."

Before anyone else could say another word, I heard someone shouting. "JADEN!" It was… Oh _no_. My eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Yuki," I started while trying to smile politely. "But I've got to go!" I was about to sprint, only for Jaden to grab me by my right arm. "Why? It's just Syrus!" He laughed. Another person I wanted to avoid so badly…

However, it was too late. The short guy ran to where we were. Once he saw me, I was met with a glare on his face. Then his eyes looked from me to Jaden (who finally let go of my arm) back and forth.

"Jay, what are you doing with _her_?" He asked with a frown. At that moment, the guy's thoughts about me were clear. He didn't like me at all. He had been discreet about it before, but this sentence finally proved it. Not that I cared, since the feeling of dislike was mutual.

"Oh, Serena and I were just talking." Jaden smiled. The frown on Syrus' face became even bigger. "Actually, I was giving him back the blazer you just happened to throw at me an hour ago." I told him with a forced, polite smile. Actually, I wasn't even trying to be polite. My intention was to mock him.

It seemed to work since Syrus' face turned red. "Hassleberry threw it… And it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't _barged_ in!" He shouted. "That wouldn't have happened if you had locked the damn door!" I growled. "Then tell Crowler to give keys to all dorms, since he seems to like you so much!" The short guy retorted.

Wait… My room didn't have a key either… He did have a point about dorms not having keys. However, I didn't care about that part right now. I was annoyed he was bringing _Crowler_ into all of this!

I was about to retort, when Jaden jumped in between us. "Whoa, calm down, both of you!" He exclaimed with hands on each of our shoulders respectively. "Sy," He looked at his buddy. "I'm sure Serena didn't do that on purpose."

The short guy looked at me with a frown, then back at Jaden. However, he didn't say anything else. "Now, why were you looking for me?" The brown-haired guy asked him. "It looks like Zane and Aster Phoenix are dueling _tonight_!" Syrus exclaimed.

Jaden's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?!" Syrus only nodded. I stayed quiet. I knew about Aster Phoenix, sure, but the 'Zane' guy was unknown to me… "And Crowler managed to find a way for us to watch that duel!" He added excitedly. "That's cool!" Jaden grinned. "Let's go tell the others!" The short guy pulled him by his hand.

However, his friend turned around to look at me instead. "Will you come and watch it too?" He asked with a smile. I eyed him. Why in the world he was still bothering to talk to me, I had no idea… "Probably not." I huffed and turned around.

"See? I told you not to talk to her!" I could hear Syrus telling Jaden while they were walking away. Raising an eyebrow, I turned around...

"Serena!" Someone called me instead. Turning my head, I could see Ben running up to me. As soon as he was in front of me, I smacked him in the back of his head for the second time. "Ow! What was that for?!" He asked in disbelief while holding the part where I had hit him with his right hand.

I narrowed my eyes. "For leaving me with the stupid blazer, _certo_!" I pointed out the obvious. "But you don't have it anymore." "You still left me with it!" I retorted. Seeing I was still holding the Eggwich in my hand, I decided to finally eat the rest of it. "Is that Golden Eggwich?" Ben was surprised.

"Yeah, so?" I looked at him questioningly. "How many times did you draw?" "I only bought one sandwich." I shrugged, taking another bite. He was staring at me for a few moments. "Impressive." He finally said. "It was sheer dumb luck." I rolled my eyes.

Ben sighed. "Forget that now," He waved it off. "Have you heard of tonight's duel?!" He asked me in excitement. That earned him another eyeroll from me. "_Unfortunately_, yes." I said simply. "Do you want to come with me and watch it?" My cousin asked me.

I shook my head. "I have better business than watching two people dueling for money because they failed to find something more productive with their lives." I responded sarcastically. "Oh, come on, Serena, please!" Ben looked at me pleadingly. "Why should I?" I gave him a cold look. "So you can see what professional dueling looks like!"

"And I'm just the person dying to see that." My voice was dripping with even more sarcasm. I had no idea why he was so insistent on me watching the stupid duel… "If you watch this one, I swear I'll never make you do it again!" Ben was still pleading with me.

Once I heard those words, my eyes landed on him, away from my nearly finished sandwich. "Promise?" I asked warily. "Promise." He grinned. "Fine." I sighed; certain I'd regret this. Yet, if Aster Phoenix was dueling… He would surely use his real deck, right? I could take a quick peek at what kind of deck it was…

* * *

That night, I walked towards the main building with Ben. I was holding the herbarium in my hands tightly (Ben had given it to me, since I didn't dare step into that room again).

We walked into a classroom with a giant monitor. Ben took a random seat in second row. I followed my cousin, sitting on his left. Other students were coming in as well. In fact, the classroom seemed to be fuller every second. Guess everyone was hyped for this duel…

"Hey, Ben." I could suddenly hear Jaden greeting my cousin. "Hey, Jay." My cousin greeted back happily while I was looking through my herbarium. I could hear them doing something like 'hi five'. "You said you wouldn't come, huh?" I knew that question was directed towards me.

Looking up, I could see Jaden sitting down on the seat next to me. He was looking at me in what seemed to be amusement. Opening my mouth, I was about to think of a good response… Only to be cut off. "I convinced her to come." Ben explained smugly from behind me. "That's good." The Slifer student grinned at him. "I agree." My cousin grinned as well. I rolled my eyes at both of the guys next to me.

Suddenly, Chazz, Bastion, Syrus, the military guy and that girl walked in. The black-haired guy and the girl briefly glanced at Ben and Jaden. Their eyes then landed on me for a few seconds. Finally, they sat in a row behind us. Bastion looked at the duo next to me, and simply nodded in my direction indifferently. He joined the other two.

The military guy briefly looked at his friends. Then he gave me a cold look. I returned it with a glare (a good payback for what happened this morning). He folded his arms, but sat in the row behind us without another word.

Finally, Syrus walked to the row where the three of us were sitting. While his eyes were looking at Ben, Jaden and me, I could have sworn he briefly shot me a glare. However, he sat on a seat on Jaden's left quietly. Therefore, I had no time to return the mutual feeling of dislike.

"I can't wait for it to start!" Ben then said excitedly. "You've been saying that since this afternoon." Bastion noted from behind me. "Leave it, Bastion. He's excited after all. I can't believe Crowler actually managed to get the cable!" I could hear the girl commenting in disbelief. "Figures Crowler would do anything to see Aster Phoenix dueling, especially after he had shown up here." Chazz pointed out the obvious.

"Zane too!" Syrus reminded. "Yeah, that as well, even though Phoenix showed up only once." Ben nodded. "He has shown up here _twice_ since the beginning of the year, Benjamin." Chazz spoke up calmly. My cousin's eyes widened, so did the eyes of everyone else. I could sense feeling of dread washing over me. I had no idea how he knew about Aster Phoenix's second visit here, but I hoped I wouldn't get mentioned in process… "Wait, when was the second time?!" Jaden asked the black-haired guy in surprise.

"Rumors say it was a few days ago, when four of you went to discuss your detention with Crowler." He responded with his arms folded, and eyes closed. "Jasmine and Mindy _did _say something about that a while ago…" The girl's voice said from behind me in realization. "Well what was he doing here?!" Syrus demanded curiously. "I don't know." Chazz shrugged.

I stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation. I was praying they wouldn't mention me… "Cuzo," Ben suddenly looked at me. "What did Crowler want to see you for that day?" "Something unimportant." I waved it off.

Luckily, before he could question it further, screen turned on.

Some sort of dome appeared, with pictures of Aster Phoenix and a guy with neat, dark blue hair known as Zane Truesdale. Truesdale… My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That name sounded familiar for some reason… Wait. Syrus' last name was Truesdale from what I remembered (_if _I even remembered it correctly)… Were those two related?

"_Good evening, dueling fans," _A reporter's voice could be heard, making me roll my eyes at the 'fans' part. Word 'fanatics' suited them better… _"We are coming to you live from the Kaiba Dome!" _The screen then showed a huge dome.

Then it basically zoomed in on the crowd, and what I guessed was the dome's interior.

"_THE GAME IS ON!" _The reporter shouted, just as smoke appeared inside. Once it disappeared, it revealed Zane Truesdale, and zoomed in on his fans (a bunch of crazy, female fanatics). Some of them were even shouting 'marry me', or something along those lines.

I groaned in annoyance and put hair over my face once I heard that. Just disgusting… Girls were crushing on that guy just because he happened to play cards well?! They were even more stupid than I thought. However, there _was _a bright side for all Pro duelists… In case they failed miserably in the Pro League, finding a spouse wouldn't be a problem. Judging by what I've seen, _every_ girl would grab the chance to marry one of them!

"What does he have that I don't?!" I could hear Chazz complaining. That earned him a laugh from Jaden and my cousin. _'Crazy female fanatics, and be happy about that, Princeton.' _I thought sarcastically. "Let's see… A career, personality, _and _a good-looking little brother!" Syrus counted all the things.

My eyes slightly widened at the last part. That meant this Zane guy was his older brother… Well, that explained it…

Smoke appeared yet again. Once it cleared, Aster Phoenix appeared as well. Then (to my extreme annoyance) they zoomed in on his female fans who were as crazy about him as Truesdale's fans were about the other guy.

I let out another groan, covering my face with even more red strands. The duel hasn't even started yet, and here I was, already wishing to get out of here…

"Good luck with seeing the duel with all that hair over your face." Jaden suddenly told me. I glared at him in annoyance. It was incredible how oblivious this guy was… Why would I cover my face if I wanted to see the stupid duel?! Ben told me to_ come_, but he never said anything against not watching it there!

"Quiet, it's starting!" Syrus shushed all of us. Just in time too, because Jaden seemed to be thinking of a response to my reaction.

I decided to ignore the two duelists exchanging words, since I didn't come here to listen to their trash talking. Once I saw what Aster Phoenix's deck looked like, I'd simply ignore the rest of the duel. Whoever won, good for them!

Finally, both of them activated their Duel Disks. _"Alright, beauty before age!" _Aster Phoenix declared, saying his draw was the first one. There was that humility… _"I think I'll start by summoning this guy!" _He showed the card in his hand…. _Elemental Hero Avian_?!

That action caused Ben, Syrus, Chazz, Bastion, the girl and the military guy to gasp. My eyes widened in surprise once I saw it. Maybe I hated those cards, but even _I _knew Elemental Heroes were Jaden's deck, since the two of us have dueled recently… Phoenix was not stupid, he knew that… He and Jaden had dueled before after all!

"Hold on, that's mine!" Jaden said in surprise on my left. Avian was then summoned to the field, showing the exact same number of Defense and Attack Points. Even Zane Truesdale seemed to be surprised.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Not that I cared or anything… But why would a _professional duelist_ copy someone's deck like that?! Just stupid!

"Come on, bro, that's not cool! Show some originality!" Jaden complained, making me look at him for a few moments. He was obviously annoyed and offended. Shrugging my shoulders, I looked away. Copycats weren't nice, sure… But that wasn't my problem. It wasn't my deck he was copying, and I didn't care about cards in general.

"Check it out, he's smiling!" Syrus suddenly pointed out. It made me look up. He was right. Zane Truesdale had a smile on his face, unlike his (up until now) calm look. "Wouldn't you? He does have the advantage after all." Bastion stated. "He'd dueled against Jaden's deck before, which means he knows its weaknesses after all." Ben told the short guy. "_If_ it's just like his." The girl reminded.

Seeing I've seen enough of this already, I decided to start looking through my herbarium. I wouldn't be able to stay focused on the duel after all, since those two always either pulled out a Spell or a Trap Card to counter something else. It was happening so fast…

While I was ignoring what was happening around me, something else caught my attention. There was a plant I hadn't seen here before… It was a white and blue flower, which I immediately recognized as Asagao. However, I didn't remember ever collecting it… Weird.

I must have staring at it for quite some time, since I was brought back to reality by loud gasps. "I can't believe Aster just took out my brother…" Syrus was gaping at the screen. Others didn't know what to say. Judging by their reaction, Phoenix winning this _was _a big deal…

"I take it Zane Truesdale was good, since all of you are making such a fuss out of this?" I whispered to Ben in a bit of confusion. "Serena," He looked at me in disbelief. "He was the _best_ duelist here at the Academy." "Oh…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

That was when screen showed reporters coming up to Aster Phoenix outside the dome. _"What an impressive win! What's your secret?" _One of them asked. _"Like I tell my fans, winning duels is a piece of cake when destiny's got your back!" _Aster Phoenix responded.

"_Could you tell us more about that deck of yours?" _The female reporter wondered. _"Well, there's a reason why I've unveiled it today…" _The duelist looked directly at the camera. _"You see, a while ago, I visited the Duel Academy… And there was a student who totally copied it!" _He frowned.

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. _Copied_? How much of an idiot could this moron be?! _"I guess I can't blame him,"_ Aster Phoenix looked away for a few moments. _"I mean… Who __**wouldn't**__ want to be just like me?" _

"_Qui_, _imbecille_." I smirked, making Ben shush me. However, he didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"_So, before this wannabe could take all of the credit, I had no choice but to reveal mine. You see, this student, who shall remain nameless, has sort of a following among hardcore dueling fans… And the last thing I need is some prep school punk taking the credit for all of my hard work!" _Aster Phoenix continued acting like an idiot.

I swear, he sounded so full of himself… I did my best not to growl. "_That _settles it. I officially _can't _stand this bloke!" I could hear Bastion saying behind me. As much as I didn't like being near them… I had to agree with the British guy.

"_Now, whether you like me or not… There's one fact no one out there can dispute…" _The pro duelist smiled. _"__**I**__'m the best!" _By now, I didn't bother getting annoyed with the idiot on the screen. I kept looking at the screen blankly.

"_And to prove it, I'm challenging this schoolboy…" _He then declared. "_I won't tell you his name, but it rhymes with Schmaden Schmuki."_

I rolled my eyes and put the herbarium against my chest. All the fanatics were the same, just wanting to beat the hell out of someone else… All of them wanted to prove they were the best…

However, I didn't understand why Aster Phoenix challenged Jaden to a duel. It was surprising, and confusing… Just like him challenging me to a duel before was. I still had no idea what _that _was all about…

"_Hear me, Schmaden?" _The duelist suddenly called out on the screen. _"You know who you are, you card thief! If you think your rip-off deck is so good, then __**prove**__ it!" _He finished dramatically. The screen then turned off.

As soon as that happened, everyone started talking between themselves. In other words, they were pretty much freaking out. That moron coming here _was _a big deal to them…

However, I didn't give a damn. I gave up on asking Phoenix about that duel we had. I couldn't stand looking at him anymore! Wait… Why was I getting all worked up over a fanatic? It wasn't me he challenged to this duel… Therefore, I had no reason to give a damn about his conflict with Yuki. I'd just leave it at that. Again, whoever won the duel, good for them, since I didn't care!

However, Ben's look of astonishment was amusing to me. He had put Aster Phoenix on such high pedestal, and look at what happened now… "You were saying…" I looked at my cousin with a smirk. "That _wasn't_ nice." Astonishment on his face was soon replaced by anger. "Why Sartorius even knew this guy is beyond me." He added.

Those words reminded me of the time I asked Phoenix about Sartorius… Only to receive a negative answer.

Letting out a sigh, I said 'bye' to Ben and started heading to my room. This was enough worrying for one night. I was close to having a headache!

**Third Person's POV**

"Then I'd better be on my way to the Duel Academy." Aster Phoenix said. "Yes." Sartorius nodded in approval.

However, just as he was about to leave the room, the young duelist turned around. "What about that girl I had dueled? You've been quiet about her ever since then…" He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Sartorius closed his eyes for a few moments. After that duel, he was even closer to his theory coming true. He definitely sensed something, even though it was unprecise…

That meant this could threaten his plans… The easiest way was to try to get rid of her. However, Sartorius knew he couldn't do that. He just couldn't. As long as she stayed out of the way, everything would be fine…

"Forget about her. You have other things on your mind right now." The man responded calmly. Aster Phoenix raised an eyebrow. He still didn't understand what the deal was about the red-haired girl… He never got an explanation for that duel!

However, he left the room without another word.

**Serena's POV**

When I returned to my room that night, I immediately threw myself at bed. I then took my album and started looking through it. Only thing I wanted was to relax after today's events… However, at least one bright side came out of this. I wouldn't have to go watch another duel, since I fulfilled my promise to Ben!

I kept looking through the album. However, one picture caught my eye. Slowly taking it out, I observed the picture. It was me on my seventh birthday (according to Aunt Maria)…

Suddenly, I could hear something falling on the floor. I quickly stood up… To see some sort of a card lying there. My eyes looked at it, and then at the picture in my hands. The card must have fallen out of the album while I was taking the picture… However, I had never seen this thing before. That's why it surprised me so much…

Raising an eyebrow, I walked closer. Then I took the card off the floor. Once I sat on the bed again, I decided to look at the thing better.

From what I could see, it was a birthday card. It had a lot of blue and pink flowers all over it… I then turned it around. Something was written there! Whoever wrote it, didn't exactly have a neat handwriting.

_BUON SETTIMO COMPLEANNO, SERENA!_

_From your best friend and neighbor, the Future King of Games_

I finished reading it in astonishment. This was given to me for my seventh birthday?! What was it doing here then?

Frowning, I tried to remember at least something about my birthday back then. It didn't matter what it was. It didn't matter whether it was how I got the birthday card, someone's name, people in there… I just wanted it to be _something_!

However… I couldn't remember anything. Absolutely _nothing_. It was like my mind was completely blank…

I looked down at the card yet again. The person introduced themselves as the 'Future King Of Games'… He was also supposed to be my neighbor, based on what was written here. Yet I saw this for the first time today… What in the world was going on?!

Suddenly, my head started hurting. Letting out a groan, I dropped the card and grabbed my head. Unfortunately, the pain was so strong I couldn't even see where I was. The only thing I knew was that I fell to the floor, and was now lying on my back.

_I was running away from someone while laughing. From what I could see, we were in some sort of a garden. It was sunny, and filled with flowers._

"_I'm gonna win this time!" The boy behind me shouted in determination. "That's what you said the last time!" I burst into laughter yet again while holding some cards in my hands. I was still trying to run away. However, seeing we had nowhere to go, we were pretty much running around three trees in the garden._

"_Well, I'm saying it again!" The boy retorted, trying to sound serious. However, he was failing. I could hear he was trying to hold in laughter. "If I'm going to lose to a girl," He started while I was hiding against a tree. _

_I took a peek behind me, when someone knocked me to the ground. I let out a yelp in surprise and looked up. The boy was now on top of me. However, I couldn't see his face. "If I'm going to lose to a girl, then let it be with honor and a good duel!" He shouted dramatically._

_I rolled my eyes. "You said you wanted to be the 'King of Games'? At this point, you sound more like the 'King of __**Drama**__'_." _I pointed out jokingly. However, that only made both of us burst in laughter._

I tried to sit up while breathing heavily. What I just witnessed… What flashed through my mind like that…

Finally, I managed to get myself in a sitting position. I grabbed the birthday card from the floor. While I was looking at it, I couldn't get those pictures out of my head.

I've been contemplating for a while now what those things were, hallucinations or memories… However, after what just happened, I had to throw out the 'hallucination' theory. There was no way this could be one.

I could remember that chase throughout garden now. It was back in Domino City, when I was about six or seven. I was feeling so happy and excited just playing there… Now, I didn't remember who was with me… But this was definitely a memory. It was something I couldn't recall up until this moment.

Once I managed to sit on my bed, I looked at the album with a frown. After what had happened, it was clear. I couldn't doubt it anymore. I was really forgetting something important. Since I couldn't remember anything else about my life back in Domino City, I knew my memory problem was connected to the time we lived there.

My parents weren't quiet about Domino City for nothing, and they were acting strange at certain moments… They were hiding something from me. So were Aunt Maria and Uncle Luca. I had to find out what…

**Well, that's it for this chapter! Not a good day in Serena's neighborhood… XD**

**In case anyone's interested, here's the meaning of Italian words Serena was saying:**

**Sei una idiota: you're an idiot;**

**Che due palle: what the hell;**

**Sei stupido: you're stupid;**

**Perché: Why;**

**Si: yes;**

**Certo: of course;**

**Qui: here;**

**Imbecille: imbecile;**

**Buon settimo compleanno: Happy seventh birthday.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	13. Questionable Sanity

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) I understand why, but it's better to put some twist in there! ;) The scene I enjoyed writing the most, lmao… Yup, I also agree a bit about that... **

**This chapter and the next one take place during episode 'Pop Goes The Duel'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Hi." The girl's voice greeted cheerfully. However, she didn't receive an answer. "Did cat bite your tongue?" She then asked in confusion. "I… I…" The boy's voice stammered. "Hey, I won't bite you, or something like that!" The girl laughed. She was met with silence yet again. _

"_I'm Serena. What about you?" "What about me?" The boy questioned a bit nervously. "What's your name?" She asked curiously. "I'm… I'm…"_

"ACHOO!" I put a tissue against my mouth before letting out a sneeze. After throwing it into a nearby garbage can, I turned back to my PDA and phone. It's been two days since I found that birthday card, and since I figured out that I had some sort of amnesia. However, I was still trying to muster up courage to call Aunt Maria about this. Right now, I was sitting on stairs since we had free period, and trying to just make that phone call.

Calling my parents _would _have been more reasonable… But I knew I wouldn't get anything out of them. They hadn't told me anything before, and they certainly wouldn't do it now. From what Ben told me yesterday, Uncle Luca was getting sick a lot these days… I was convinced my cousin didn't know anything about this. If he did, then he would tell me. I didn't say anything about this to him either. This was something I wanted to keep to myself… For now. I wasn't even sure what exactly I couldn't remember. I was aimlessly walking around, only counting on newly-discovered flashbacks to help me out.

Seeing I couldn't call my parents, or Uncle, Aunt Maria was the only option… She knew something was up, I could tell that. When I asked her about my seventh birthday a month and a half ago, she did her best to drop the subject.

I let out a sigh. Once I pulled the edge of the glove up a bit, I looked at the bracelet on my left wrist. Aunt Maria _did _know where I got this thing from… It was apparently given to me by a friend as a birthday gift. From what I also managed to gather; those things used to be a huge hit in Domino City (based on what the girl from the plane said anyway).

Thanks to a small memory from before, I could conclude Aunt Maria was referring to a boy. He also had the same bracelet (or used to have, since this was a long time ago after all). Letting out a groan, I grabbed my head. I had some clues, sure… Except that it didn't help me at all! It only made it clear people were hiding things from me for an unknown reason.

Even though I heard that voice many times by now, I still couldn't figure out the boy's identity. It sounded kind of familiar, and I was sure I had to know who it was… Yet still nothing. This was so confusing!

I took the birthday card out of my pocket. Seeing how only he appeared in my head, one thing was clear. He was the same person who sent me this card and gave me the bracelet. Based on the writing, he was also supposed to be my neighbor and… _Best friend_…

The last thing sounded just absurd. I mean, since when did I have…

I never got to finish my thoughts because I heard voices through the hallway. "Are you sure?" That sounded like… "I'm telling you, Chazz, yes, I am…" Jaden's voice responded worriedly. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What in the world was going on?

Right then, Chazz and Jaden appeared in my view. Actually, the former was dragging the latter by his hand down the hallway. "Let's just get you to Mrs. Fontaine." The black-haired guy declared with a frown.

Judging by what I had just heard, they were heading to infirmary… But why? I didn't understand a thing by now…

"Serena Accardi, stop bothering with two fanatics." I growled to myself once they were out of my sight. I knew the problem would be solved either way, so, again, why should I bother?

However, suddenly, more weird things happened. Ben, Bastion, the girl and the military guy ran towards the infirmary as well, with several Ra Yellow and Slifer Red students close behind. Raising an eyebrow, I stood up from my sitting place on stairs.

Why were they in such a hurry? Something was definitely up. Ben didn't even notice me sitting here! Now I wanted to know what the deal was, since other students were running towards the infirmary as well.

Hold on… I _wasn't _supposed to be interested in what was happening here… But, if so many students were there, then that meant…

While I was arguing with myself whether I should follow the crowd or not, Syrus ran past me. He seemed to be in hurry too, I had to note. "OUT OF THE WAY!" I could hear him shouting at the end of the hall. "I said, BEAT IT!" Chazz's voice could be heard this time.

_That was it_! Damn ignoring everything else! I _had to _see what the heck was going on over there, I just had to!

With curiosity finally getting the better of me, I put my phone and PDA in pockets of my uniform. I then started running… Only to slip on stairs and start falling down them. I let out a yelp of pain once I landed on the last part of stairs with my butt. "_Cazzo_…" I cursed under my breath. It hurt like hell…

But I stood up anyway. I'd worry about my butt pain later! I started running down the corridor. At that moment, a lot of panicked Ra Yellow and Slifer Red students ran in my direction from the infirmary. Two of them even hit into each of my shoulder respectively.

The result was me yelping and spinning around in the run from the force of their hit… Which ended up with me falling to the ground yet again. By now, all of the students have disappeared from the hallway. I let out a growl. They could have watched where they were going…

I jumped up from the ground and dusted off my uniform. I then started walking quickly while tightening my gloves. After doing it with the right one, I pulled the bracelet down my wrist and started tightening the left one, when….

I bumped into someone, letting out a quiet gasp of surprise. I looked up slowly, only to be met with chocolate brown eyes looking into my light blue ones. I immediately knew who that person was. It was Jaden…

However, something was… _Off _about him. Whenever I ran into the guy, or he wanted to talk to me, he would have a huge grin, or a smile on his face. His eyes would show joy and happiness, and he would always stand straight.

But now? Instead of a grin, a look of what seemed to be upset and sadness was on his face. His eyes were looking down, and his head was lowered.

Once he looked at me, it was quiet for a few moments. During that time, we were just staring at each other. "Sorry." He said quietly. I tilted my head to right in confusion. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting so… _Unusual_?

Before I could say anything, Jaden walked past me, heading down the hallway. I quickly turned around to look at his disappearing form. To say that I was confused was an understatement… I had absolutely _no _idea what had just happened.

Why was Jaden acting so… Unlike him? The guy was happy whenever I saw him. Even when I wanted him to go away, you couldn't get smile off his face at all… So what was it with this suddenly sad and depressed look?! It was odd… And that was coming from _me_! Even _I _could see something was wrong!

"What in the world…" I trailed off in astonishment. "Serena." Ben's voice quickly made me turn my head. He, Chazz, Bastion, Syrus, the girl and the military guy had just got out of the infirmary. My cousin walked up to where I was. However, all of them seemed to be rather upset about something….

"You want us to wait for you?" Bastion asked, apparently seeing Ben wanted to talk to me. "No, you go ahead. I'll catch up with you." My cousin shook his head. With a nod, the five of them started heading out.

Once they were gone, I turned around to look at Ben. "Would you mind explaining to me what the heck is wrong with Yuki?" I raised an eyebrow with a frown. He let out a sigh. "It's…. A bit complicated." "Then start from the beginning." I pointed out the obvious.

"Fine." He straightened up. "Do you remember when Aster Phoenix challenged Jaden to a duel?" I simply nodded. "Well, they had that duel yesterday." He rubbed the back of his head. "And?" I urged him to keep going. "Aster Phoenix unveiled a new deck," "How many decks does that guy have?!" I cut my cousin off in annoyance.

I meant it! First, he used cheap cards, then he copied Jaden's deck, and now he had a new one?! Seriously…

Seeing Ben was surprised at my reaction, I felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry," I cleared my throat. "Please continue." "Anyway, Aster Phoenix then won the duel. Cards flew out of Jaden's Duel Disk, all over the floor as he fell to the ground unconscious." My cousin explained with a frown.

I was looking at him in surprise. If I got this correctly… Jaden got unconscious because he had lost a duel? Was that even possible?! It just sounded ridiculous!

"We brought him to Mrs. Fontaine immediately. She claimed he was just exhausted from the duel." Ben continued. "However, this morning it got even weirder." I tilted my head to right in confusion. What could be weirder than what I had just been told, I had no idea…

"Chazz and Jaden were supposed to have a practice duel. Just as he drew his sixth card, Jaden claimed he couldn't see any of them." I was staring at him, feeling utterly perplexed. _Couldn't see them_? "What?" I could only muster those words. "Chazz then informed the rest of us, and we came to see what the problem was. It turns out Jaden thinks his cards are blank, while the rest of us can see them perfectly normal."

"Blank cards?" I repeated slowly, the idea sounding crazier to me by every second. "He described it as looking at white paper." Ben nodded. "Not even Mrs. Fontaine knew what the problem was. The only thing she could confirm was that the problem was in Jaden, not the cards." He then sighed. "So that's why he's so depressed? Just because he can't see his cards?" I asked incredulously.

The moment I said that, Ben glared at me. "Just because you can't see the point of _Duel Monsters_, that doesn't mean the rest of us are like you. Jaden loves dueling more than anything, and he has a strong bond with his deck. Not seeing his cards means he can't do what he loves anymore." He hissed, making me flinch in surprise at his tone change. He took my words way too seriously…

"Also, it's not just his cards. He can't see _any _of them!" My cousin added. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The more we discussed this subject, the crazier it sounded… What the heck could make you unable to see _cards_?! Did Yuki hit his head while falling unconscious?!

He then folded his arms. "Tell me. If you weren't able to collect plants and observe nature, how would you feel?" He demanded, tilting his head as if he were daring me to answer his question. "Pretty upset…" I guessed with a shrug. "Exactly. Jaden has every right to be upset." Ben retorted.

"Fine, fine, sorry for daring to ask!" I shouted, lifting my hands up in defense. He was getting way too worked up over the whole thing… What he had just said was ridiculous. How could a person have a bond with _cards_?

However, seeing he was already upset with my choice of words, I decided not to question it further. I didn't want him getting pissed with me so soon after the last time.

"When he woke up, nothing seemed to be weird?" I raised an eyebrow. "Apart from his head hurting like crazy and him being disoriented for some reason, yes." Ben let out a sigh.

I turned around to look at the exit. As much as I found the whole thing ridiculous… There was something upsetting about seeing Jaden like that. For some reason, it made me feel bad… I mean, just seeing him depressed instead of his usual self was upsetting too… It definitely did _not _suit the guy. And even though him constantly wanting to talk to me was annoying sometimes, I hoped he would snap out of that 'depression' thing soon…

Wait, wait, WAIT… What was I saying?! This island was clearly driving me to insanity… Why would I feel _sorry_ for him? He was a fanatic, the only thing he cared about was his damn cards!

"I'm going to meet with others now," Ben's voice broke my train of thoughts. "Want to tag along?" He asked me. I frowned. By now, I thought he knew I wanted nothing to do with those fanatics… "I think I'll skip that. Two of your friends are still pissed with me over what happened a while ago after all." I answered coldly.

My response got Ben bursting in laughter. I glared at him in annoyance. Two days passed, and it was still hilarious to him… "It's not funny! The guys literally assaulted me with that pillow and blazer!" I stomped my foot to make the point clear. "_Hassleberry _assaulted you." He corrected me. "The point still stands." I frowned.

"Another reason for you three to finally get over that incident!" Ben suddenly grabbed my hand. "BENJAMIN!" I shouted and tried to pull my hand out of his to no avail. He started pulling me to what I presumed was Slifer Red dorm.

* * *

By the time Ben dragged me to the renovated part of the building, I stopped protesting. Trying to break free was useless with him around… Besides, the sooner this was over, the sooner I'd be able to get out of there!

Opening the door, we walked into a huge room. I closed the door behind me while observing the place. There were stairs leading to some sofas, a table, and TV… There were even stairs leading to an upper part… Noises may have been annoying during renovation, but I had to admit it was worth it. Impressive…

The moment we walked in; five heads turned in our direction. They seemed to be alright with seeing Ben… But reactions were different once their eyes landed on me. Bastion, once again, nodded indifferently. Chazz folded his arms but remained quiet. The girl looked between my cousin and me back and forth. Syrus and the military guy frowned at me immediately.

"Did I miss something?" Ben asked curiously. "We were just discussing how weird Jaden's situation is." The girl said simply. "You have any idea where he is right now?" He raised an eyebrow. "In our room." Syrus sighed. "Sarge doesn't wanna come out." The military guy added.

Ben's eyebrows furrowed. "Any idea how we can help him?" "Honestly, if Mrs. Fontaine couldn't help him, then we have less chances." Bastion pointed out matter-of-factly. "He said he wanted to be alone. Let's just leave the Slacker be for a while." Chazz frowned. "There's no point in pushing him. It might make things even worse." The girl agreed.

"In that case…" My cousin sighed before walking downstairs. He threw himself at one part of sofa, next to the girl. I stayed where I was, observing all of them. "Come on, cuzo, there's one place left!" Ben motioned for me to sit down next to him.

"You don't mind I brought Serena here?" He then asked others. The girl and Bastion shook their heads while Chazz muttered 'whatever'. Syrus and the military guy, on the other hand, frowned yet again. "It's okay, Ben. I need to get…" I started, but never got to finish.

Ben jumped up and grabbed me by my hand before I could get out. "You three are going to sort it out now!" He declared, leading me to where Syrus and the other guy were. "Syrus, Hassleberry…" My cousin started sheepishly. "I get you're still mad at Serena for what happened," That got him even bigger frowns.

"But I told her she could come in whenever she wanted, so blame it on me instead. She couldn't have known what we were doing back then." He explained. I looked at him in a bit of surprise. I walked in on those two, and here he was, taking the blame for that? I mean, he _was_ to blame partially, but I should have knocked nonetheless…

After a few moments, Syrus and the guy sighed. "Fine." They finally said. "Sorry, Serena." The short guy said simply. He didn't sound angry anymore. "Sorry for hitting you with the pillow and Sarge's blazer." The military guy apologized, making my face become red at the mention of _that_. I could tell Ben was doing his best not to burst out laughing.

"Forget it," I waved it off in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for not knocking." I finished bluntly. "Apology accepted." They responded. "If I remember correctly, your names are Syrus and Hassle… Hassle…" I tried to remember the second name. However, I didn't seem to have much luck.

"Hassleberry." The guy said. "Oh." I quickly nodded. I then turned around. "Bastion…" I remembered the Ra Yellow guy's name. "Chazz…" I looked at the black-haired guy. "And…" I stopped, looking at the girl. I didn't know her name either… "Serena can sometimes forget or mess up people's names. That's why she's repeating them to make sure that doesn't happen." Ben explained once he saw confused looks others were giving me. "Oh…" The rest of them trailed off in realization.

The girl simply nodded with a small smile. "Alexis." She introduced herself. "Alexis." I repeated, trying to memorize the girl's name. I repeated it in my head a few times before looking at others. Fine, Syrus, Bastion and Chazz were names I've already known. There were just the military… _Hassleberry _and _Alexis_. I had to memorize those names!

Fine. At least I knew names of all of Ben's friends. Now I could get out of here and… That couldn't happen since at that moment, Ben grabbed my hand and led me to a sofa. I gave him a disapproving look. "Just stay here for a while, and then I'll leave you alone. Alright?" He whispered, giving me a pleading look.

I let out a groan but nodded. "I'll hold you to your word." I hissed.

"While what happened to Jaden is serious," Bastion suddenly spoke up with a frown. "We have bigger problems." I looked up, my eyebrows furrowing. What could possibly be more serious than your friend not being himself?

Ben must have noticed my perplexed look, since he looked at me. "Crowler and Bonaparte are trying to tear down this dorm." He quickly explained. "Why?" I raised an eyebrow. Tearing down dorms? Has the whole world gone crazy? First a guy couldn't see damn cards, and now this?!

"I'll tell you why," Chazz spoke up, his black eyes looking straight into my light blue ones. "Crowler's obsessed with getting publicity for the Academy, and he thinks this dorm is giving it a bad image." He folded his arms. "And with Jaden out, the chances for tearing down this place are even bigger." Bastion added.

Honestly… I had no idea why they were being so serious and upset about this, but I'd just leave it at that. I didn't give a damn about this place being demolished. Sure, maybe my room would be gone… But if the dorm was demolished, then we'd just move into a better one! That was supposed to be a better option, right?

I stayed quiet, not really caring about that problem. "They'll tear it down for sure, we don't stand a chance." Syrus sighed. "Why are all of you so disheartened just because Jaden had lost a single duel?" I asked Ben quietly with a frown. "Jaden is one of best duelists here. It proves there are good duelists coming from Slifer Red dorm, despite its bad reputation. With him not being around, there's no reason for Slifer Red to exist anymore. Technically speaking." He whispered back to me.

I simply nodded. It kind of made sense… If the best one wasn't there to defend it, then why would you bother? The reason for its existence was practically out of the picture now… Just because Jaden decided to go and be depressed.

Frowning, I mentally scolded myself for even thinking about the last part. Jaden was always a cheerful person; I could see that… I just couldn't picture him being depressed up until today. When you did a 180 degree turn in such way, it _was _serious. Besides… It's not like he chose to be unable to see those cards!

Wait… Why was I still bothering with Yuki's problem?! I couldn't care less about what happened to one of million fanatics out there!

I quickly shook my head to get rid of those stupid thoughts. Ben gave me a questioning look, as if he were asking whether I was alright. I nodded, while the others seemed to be disheartened by what had happened. Chazz, on the other hand, waved with his hand for some reason, as if he was shooing something away. Weird.

"Ah, ah, ah," He then suddenly spoke up, raising an index finger. I looked at him curiously. "We may be one man down," He put the finger down. "But we're seven men strong!" He opened his eyes with a smirk, looking at all of us.

I raised an eyebrow at the 'seven men' part, seeing there weren't only men in here. "Well, _five_ men and _two _ladies," Chazz quickly corrected himself before suddenly standing up. "Alright, _four_ men, _two_ ladies, and Syrus!" He put his right foot on the table and lifted up his arm. "_The point _is, we've got to fight!" He declared.

Why Chazz included me in his speech, I had no idea. I wasn't friends with them after all. He most probably did it because I was a part of this dorm, and Ben was my cousin (who was friends with Chazz). However, I paid no attention to that. Again, I couldn't care less whether this dorm was torn down, they'd just place us into a better one!

"Chazz's right!" "Count me in!" "I'll stand by and cheer!" "_Non mollare, continua a lottare!_" "How about a group 'YEEHA'?" Bastion, Alexis, Syrus, Ben and Hassleberry stood up enthusiastically, apparently encouraged by Chazz's speech.

"YEEHA!" All six of them cheered. I, on the other hand, was looking at them unimpressed. They were ready to fight for a stupid building as if their life depended on it… They really had to find something more productive with their lives…

I decided to pretty much ignore what they were saying, only hearing something about brotherhoods and sisterhoods. However, suddenly, I could hear some sort of singing.

The others apparently heard it too, since all of us raced outside of the dorm.

* * *

"It's coming from the bridge!" Ben pointed. We ran to it, as the singing became louder.

Once we came to the edge of the bridge, I leaned closer. Singing was coming from under the bridge. Looking there, I could see a guy playing a guitar in a boat and singing. He had long, dark brown hair and dark eyes. The guy was dressed in a red, short-sleeved shirt with yellow flowers, and brown, Bermuda shorts.

"Hey, sissy!" The guy suddenly shouted with a smile. "Atticus?" Alexis responded. Wait… Those two were siblings? Now that I observed him better, I could definitely see some resemblance between them. My eyes widened slightly as I remembered where I had seen the guy before. He was on the photo Mrs. Fontaine had dropped!

I couldn't help frowning. It looked like this guy was slightly older than us, yet Mrs. Fontaine was apparently one of his fans… What the heck?! I mean, he looked like he was 17 or 18, and she was obviously older… Letting out a sigh, I tugged at my hair.

"Who's he calling a sissy?" Hassleberry's voice brought me back to reality. "Me, because he's my brother." Alexis responded.

"He's going towards the cliff next to the dorm!" Syrus pointed. We made a run to the cliff, just as the guy got up to where we were. "Remind me again, what's his name?" I asked Ben quietly. "Atticus." He responded. "Atticus…" I repeated under my breath, trying to memorize the name.

"What brings you to this side of campus?" Alexis asked her sibling. "Don't act innocent. You remember Crowler's plan!" The guy… _Atticus _reminded her. "_Oh no_…" Ben suddenly gasped from next to me.

I looked at him questioningly. "Please tell me you're joking." The Obelisk Blue girl responded. "He sounds pretty serious to me!" Crowler's voice suddenly said from below the cliff, making all of us look in that direction in surprise. What in the world…

Crowler climbed up the cliff. My eyes widened in astonishment while observing the Chancellor. He was wearing a swimming suit and snorkeling equipment on his head. A boat was strapped to his back, the same one Atticus had used a little earlier…

I knew Crowler was prone to losing it… But… WHAT THE HECK was this all about?! Why would he go snorkeling around with a boat strapped to his back?!

"Chancellor Crowler, is that you?" Alexis demanded in surprise. "A nice day for snorkeling, isn't it?" Crowler got up completely by now. I frowned. This man was insane… "Alexis, dear, have you come to your senses yet?" He then asked, trying to keep balance with the silly boat still on his back.

I could hear Ben huffing from next to me, making me roll my eyes. "Have I come to my senses? I'm not the one in a wetsuit with a boat strapped to my back!" The dark-blonde-haired girl pointed out the obvious.

"What about you, Benjamin?" The Chancellor then looked at my cousin. "No." Ben frowned. "Seriously, you three. Can't you give his idea a chance?" Atticus asked in disbelief while Crowler finally lost balance and fell off the cliff with his boat. "Wait, three?" Bastion demanded in surprise.

"Yes!" Atticus nodded. "Alexis," He pointed at his sister. "Ben," Then at my cousin. "And Serena!" He finally pointed at me. I was completely taken by surprise. How the heck did he know my name?! "How do you know my name?" I asked. "Crowler's mentioned you a few times." He smiled.

I sighed. Why was the man mentioning me in the first place?! This was becoming crazier and crazier by a freaking second…

"What is he talking about?" Syrus spoke up. "Ben and I've already told you." Alexis responded with a sigh while blushing. "Crowler wants Atticus and Alexis to form a pop singing duo, and he wants Serena and me to do the same. He even thought about us forming a singing quartet…" Ben covered his face in utter embarrassment.

Not that I could blame him, since I started feeling a bit embarrassed as well. The idea was just awful… I just couldn't imagine myself and Ben standing on stage and singing our hearts out in Italian. We were also terrible singers. Just NO…

"I don't see what the problem is," Crowler commented while walking up to Atticus. "I will get free publicity, and all of you will get free clothes…. It's a win-win situation!" He pointed out.

I resisted the urge to groan in annoyance. I just had to attend stupid school where the Chancellor cared more about his image than his students… Even _Viper_ sounded more acceptable than this! Why did I even transfer here?!

"YES…" Chazz's voice could be heard saying way too enthusiastically. Raising an eyebrow, I quickly turned my head to look at him. I had _no _idea what was so exciting to him about this damn awful thing…

Ben looked at his friend in utter disbelief before face palming. "Just kill me…" He whispered to me. I nodded in agreement at our current predicament.

"Could you help me over here?!" Alexis suddenly asked Chazz in annoyance. "Yeah, Chazz. You know Alexis' singing is like a door creaking!" Bastion commented nonchalantly with this _smile _on his face.

My eyes widened in surprise once I heard those words. Suddenly, Alexis turned around to look at Bastion, her glare promising nothing but death. My eyes were near to popping out of their sockets once she delivered this _giant _slap across his whole right cheek. It echoed so loudly and the force sent Bastion flying to the ground.

I glanced at furious-looking Alexis and Bastion back and forth in astonishment. DAMN…

Ben, Chazz, Syrus and Hassleberry seemed to be as astonished as me. Even Atticus and Crowler were surprised by what had just happened.

Syrus, Hassleberry, Ben and I exchanged looks of pure shock and fear. We then quickly looked at where Bastion was currently lying. "You gotta know when to hold it, soldier!" Hassleberry frowned. Ben let out a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. "I thought you had learned it back then with Mrs. Fontaine…" He trailed off.

Looking at both of them, I finally got over my shock and agreed they had a point. Bastion sure had a knack for insulting women in some sort of way, aware of it or not… If he had just kept quiet, this could have been avoided!

"I was trying to help…" I could hear Bastion groaning. "Girls… So complex…" I face palmed. Whoever he ended up with in the future, I wished that woman good luck.

"_What happened to Dad?!" The boy asked from next to me. Both of us were looking at Aunt Maria and Sartorius in surprise. "He… He…" Aunt stammered, rubbing the back of her head. "A business woman didn't like… She didn't like his choice of words." Sartorius finally explained._

"_So that's why he has a handprint all over his cheek?!" I asked with my eyes wide. The man simply nodded. "That's going to make Naomi happy…" Aunt Maria trailed off sarcastically, making Sartorius sigh. "Perhaps you shouldn't have told him that word prior to the meeting. You know he generally messes up words in different languages." He pointed out._

_Aunt frowned. "Not my fault he decided to be curious about Italian insults." "You knew the business woman was Italian." He reminded. She nodded. "That's why he asked me about it in the first place!" She retorted. "Maria…" Sartorius sighed yet again. _

_His eyes then landed on us. "Run along, you two. This is something you're too young to hear about." He smiled. "But what about Dad?!" The boy demanded. "He'll be fine." Aunt Maria said reassuringly. "And Mum?" "Naomi should come soon. Now go!" She put a hand on each of our shoulders._

"_Fine…" I sighed. "Race you to that tree!" The boy shouted and started running. "No fair!" I shouted back with a laugh and ran after him._

"Serena," Someone was shaking me by my shoulders. "What?" I gasped, quickly looking up to see who was shaking me. It was Ben, and, right now, his green eyes were looking all over me in worry. "Are you alright?" He asked slowly.

I quickly nodded. "I'm fine." I quickly said. It looked like he wasn't convinced at all.

I took that moment to process what just happened. This was yet another memory… I could remember that part clearly now. Something must have provoked it…

"THAT'S IT, ENOUGH! DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN YOU! ALL THIS PRESSURE'S JUST TOO MUCH FOR ME! JUST WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" Chazz's shouting brought me back to reality. My eyes looked up to see him falling to the ground, right between Alexis and Atticus.

Ben face palmed yet again. "Oh, brother…" He sighed. "Then it looks like we have to settle this the old-school way." Atticus declared. "Fine, if it's a duel you want." Alexis frowned.

I raised an eyebrow. Why would they solve their problem by _dueling_? Couldn't they just throw a coin, or something like that?!

"I have a suggestion." Crowler spoke up. All of us looked at him. I wasn't going to like what he had to say, I was sure of it… "You two can have a duel between yourselves." "What about Ben and Serena?" Alexis demanded.

"Since Ben had already turned down the offer, Serena will duel for both of them against…" "_Moi_!" A familiar voice which I _didn't _want to hear declared. My eyes widened once I saw Bonaparte walking up to us. However, he didn't seem to be happy about seeing us.

That got me thinking. Was Crowler planning this in advance, since he knew we would refuse? He must have…

"Wait, wait," I started a bit angrily. "Give me one good reason why I should accept this." I growled, realizing my life was on the line because of a single duel. _No _duel would decide whether I sang or not!

"Because you'll have to sing?" Atticus pointed out. "I'm a _terrible _singer, just like Ben." I glared. In fact, the 'door creaking' applied to both of us… "But Aster Phoenix wanted to meet you earlier, which means you're an excellent duelist! With Benjamin as well, it will bring more publicity!" Crowler reminded ecstatically.

My eyes widened once I realized what he said. He had just spilt the beans about my meeting with Phoenix… Everyone except Crowler looked at me in surprise. "Wait, what?" Syrus spoke up for all of them.

"I won't duel." I retorted. "Serena," Ben grabbed me by my hand. "Just accept it, or else we're doomed!" He urged frantically. "But…" "You have a bigger chance of beating him, since Crowler's already seen my origamis in action!" He added quietly.

Letting out a sigh, I looked up. I really didn't want to duel… But if I didn't, then they wouldn't stop pestering us about this crazy idea! I let out a groan. As much as I was against this, I knew I had no choice. If it's a duel they wanted, then they'd get it!

"Fine." I accepted icily. "The duels shall be in four hours." Crowler declared before running off to presumably get ready. Bonaparte frowned at me, but followed the Chancellor while grumbling something. Atticus walked away as well.

Ben frowned. "Something tells me Crowler barely convinced Bonaparte to do this." He sighed. "What was that about Aster Phoenix?!" Chazz suddenly demanded.

Everyone's eyes were on me. Oh damn. They still remembered what Crowler had said! "It was unimportant." I tried to wave it off. However, they didn't seem to be convinced at all. "Forget about that now, we have duels to win if we don't want to sing!" Alexis reminded hastily and ran to the dorm.

That was panic washed all over me. I didn't, I _didn't _want to sing! Why did I have to duel?! The Chancellor was a lunatic! "Ben, how did I get myself into this?!" I asked him frantically. "Don't look at me." He frowned. "Crowler _does _like Italians a lot…" He then mused with a finger on his chin.

"Care to explain why he's obsessed with us Italians?!" I demanded while trying to calm down to no avail. "Your guesses are as good as mine." He shrugged. "But hey," My cousin then grinned. "We have the element of surprise here. They don't know what kind of deck you use!"

I looked at him as if he were crazy. "THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I HAVE TO DUEL TO DETERMINE WHETHER I'LL EMBARRASS MYSELF IN THE FUTURE OR NOT!" I screamed in utter panic. Everyone covered their ears from my screaming. By now, I was questioning whether my sanity was gone. I still wondered whether this island was really some kind of mental institution!

"Cuzo, calm down," Ben tried to put hands on my shoulders. "Even Viper had some respect for students!" I shouted, completely losing it. "So you're telling me you'd rather have him than Crowler?!" He demanded in disbelief. "He wouldn't force me to go and… SING!" I put hands on my head, trying to throw that crazy idea out of my head.

"Um, who's Viper?" Syrus asked curiously while I was still freaking out. "A jerk from West Duel Academy. Serena went there during her first year, and he always gave her detentions." Ben briefly explained. "CUZO!" He finally shouted, making me flinch in surprise.

However, it _did_ stop my panicking. "Take a deep breath…" He looked at me seriously. I took a deep breath. "Again." I did so. "Again…" I took a deep breath for the third time. By now, my heart rate slowed down. I felt much calmer…

"There's no need to panic." Ben smiled at me. "We'll go over your deck now, and you'll get to kick Bonaparte's butt in that duel." "How do you know?" I asked him with a frown. Luckily, I wasn't panicking so much anymore. Ben's advice really did do the trick… "Because I believe in you." He declared.

He then took my hand and started leading me towards the dorm. I only hoped I _would _somehow win this duel, or else Ben and I were doomed…

**And this pretty much shows who Serena will duel in the next chapter… I can't wait to write it! This chapter also gave a bit of insight on what Ben's deck is (which will be shown soon)…**

**Cazzo-shit;**

**Non mollare, continua a lottare- don't give up, keep fighting.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	14. Going Against Bonaparte

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) We'll see how much preferable Viper will be to Serena once Season 3 kicks off lmao… I have for the first half of her deck, the one she's currently using. However, I'd rather not post it yet until all of her cards are revealed in duels, since it would spoil the surprise then… ;)**

**I only own my OC's!**

By the time we were in front of the dorm, Ben frowned. "I think Jaden is currently in our room…" He trailed off in thought, with a right finger on his chin. "Then we'll go to my room." I responded impatiently, and was about to go…

Only for Ben to grab me by my wrist. "Wait, maybe we should check my room first." He pointed out. I shook my head with a frown. I didn't want anyone to be beside him and me, no matter the circumstances. "Just leave Yuki be and follow me." My cousin kept looking at me for a few moments. He then sighed. "Fine."

With those words, he started walking after me towards my room.

Once I opened the door, I walked into the room. Ben followed me, closing them in process. I started taking off my red boots. After taking them in my hands, I put them next to the door.

Even though they've technically lived in Japan for more than a few years, my parents never adapted to some of Japanese habits. One of those was taking off footwear right after walking into the house. Since they were always in some sort of hurry, they'd just walk around, sometimes even leaving trails of mud in process!

It would always (reasonably) annoy both Sartorius and Sarina. Of course, they never complained about it in front of Mum and Dad, but I could hear it from their conversations with Aunt Maria. I, on the other hand, was a completely different case.

Since both Sarina and Sartorius used to look after me, they taught me to respect Japanese traditions. They always told me how important it was to respect other cultures, especially if I lived in the places where they were present. Even though I obeyed, I naturally didn't understand the point when I was a kid.

But now, I understood it completely. I even agreed with them. If a person lived in a different country, they had no right to just barge in and disrespect someone's traditions! That was something Mum and Dad never learned… But I did. The lesson stayed with me, which was why I was taking off my boots even now, when I was alone in the room.

My cousin did the same with his shoes. He had learned the custom before, just like Aunt Maria and Uncle. He then jumped on the bed as well. "I have to admit, your room looks a lot more comfortable than ours."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe because there's _four_ of you in there, Benjamin." I replied sarcastically. "Good point." My cousin agreed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Now, let me see what you have." He pointed at the Deck Box strapped to my waist.

Without another word, I took my deck out of the box and put it in front of both of us. Ben sprawled the cards, looking at each of them. After about a minute, a frown appeared on his face. "Incredible…" He trailed off.

I didn't like the way he said those words… Something was definitely up. The question was what.

"What is it?" I asked a bit perplexed. "Those are some pretty good cards you have there… I never got to see all of them." He looked up at me a bit surprised. "Remind me again, where did you get this deck?" "Aunt Maria gave it to me." I replied while folding my arms. "However, that's only a half of the actual deck. The other half is still with her." I then added.

Ben gave me a curious look. "Why didn't she give you the entire deck?" He questioned. "She thought this would be enough for now. She said she'd give me the other half once I proved to be 'worthy' of the deck." I explained with a sigh. He simply nodded, taking one card in his right hand.

"From what I can see, this half of the deck relies on Spells, Traps, and Special Effects." He noted. His green eyes were still looking at the card. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked slowly, but hoping that wasn't the case. I definitely didn't want to be told my deck was bad right before my duel with the French… Excuse me, my _neighbor_.

Finally, Ben looked away from the card. "It's not," He started, putting it down. "I'm just used to seeing either Polymerization or Ritual Monsters in other decks, so it surprised me a bit." I frowned at those words. Ben had some Ritual Monsters in his deck, I knew that… However, I still couldn't take Polymerization seriously. Whoever named the card that way was an idiot… Polymerization was an actual process in biology, that's why! However, I kept my mouth shut.

"I think your deck is perfectly fine the way it is." Ben finally said, putting all cards together. "However, I think you could use these." He suddenly offered me two cards. I took them with a raised eyebrow. After looking at them for a few seconds, I simply nodded and put them alongside other cards. Those things could sure come in handy…

I then looked up at my cousin. "Thanks." I smiled. "_Prego, cugina_!" Ben smiled back. "But, seriously, please don't lose." He then added with a frown. After shuffling my deck and putting it back in the box, I looked up. "You know, even if I do, we'll probably scare Crowler and Bonaparte away with our singing." I pointed out. "I don't want to play risky." He declared firmly.

"_Bene, bene!_" I responded with my hands lifted in front of me. He had a point, I had to agree! Stakes were pretty high at the moment… But I _wasn't _going to sing. I was going to win the damn duel and get both of our butts out of this terrible situation! Crowler was going to regret trying to pull us into this thing in the first place…

Ben let out a sigh. I, on the other hand, started playing with the edge of my fingerless glove. Once my fingers touched the bracelet under it, I remembered I had wanted to call Aunt Maria earlier. I took my phone and was about to get off my bed, when…

"Who are you calling?" My cousin asked me curiously. "Your mother." I replied simply. "Oh, I forgot to tell you!" He suddenly exclaimed, something dawning on him. "She's extremely busy during these three days, so if you need anything, just ask Dad."

I let out a groan at hearing those words. My plans for today have officially gone to waste… I didn't want to call Uncle Luca, not with his current state. I'd just wait for Aunt Maria to finally be free for talking. That was the only solution I had at the moment…

Not knowing what else to do, I closed the phone and put it back in my pocket. "Why did you want to call Mum anyway?" Ben raised an eyebrow. I looked up at him with my arms folded. As much as I wanted to keep this a secret, maybe he knew something…

"Have you maybe heard of someone named Naomi?" I asked. My cousin blinked at me for a few moments. He then looked at the ceiling with a finger on his chin. "I _did _hear that name somewhere before…" He trailed off.

That was when a look of realization appeared on his face. "From what I remember," His gaze landed on me. "Naomi is name of a woman Mum used to be close to. She mentioned her quite a few times while talking to Dad." He explained. "Was there anything else about that woman?" I asked, hoping to get more information.

Ben frowned, staying silent. Finally, he nodded. "I accidentally heard Mum and Dad talking a few months ago in the living room. They mentioned that the woman had a child." He stated. I was looking at him, hoping he had actually heard more. "A boy, yes." My cousin then added.

"I also remember Dad forgetting the child's name, and Mum saying how the family used to live in Domino City." He then remembered. "Have you maybe caught his name?" I asked, not paying attention to how much hopeful my voice sounded. "No. I had to go solve my problem then, so I couldn't hear the rest." Ben shook his head.

I let out a sigh and ran hands through my red hair. That information was what I've already known, more or less… It did manage to confirm one thing though. The name of the boy's mother was Naomi, and they used to live in Domino City…

"Why are you asking?" Ben suddenly gave me a questioning look. "I was just curious, since I've already heard the woman's name somewhere." I lied. He didn't seem to be convinced though. He opened his mouth, only to close them right after.

"Hold on a sec," He finally spoke up, his green eyes widening. "You never told me what Crowler was talking about!" Just great. He still remembered Crowler's words… "What?" I asked, pretending to be clueless. "About Aster Phoenix wanting to meet you!" He quickly explained.

I frowned. "It was nothing important." I tried to wave it off. "Serena…" Ben looked at me expectantly. Seeing he wasn't going to drop this subject; I knew I had to tell him. I didn't want him being mad at me again after all, once was more than enough!

"Fine." I sighed in annoyance before looking up at my cousin. "Aster Phoenix wanted to meet me, yes." I admitted while tugging at my hair out of pure nervousness. "Why?" "He apparently wanted to see my deck in action. We had a duel, and I won." I explained. "Which cards did he use?!" Ben demanded, the curiosity getting the better of him.

"Different cards from the ones he used against Truesdale. My guess is those are the cards he had used against Jaden before." "Back when he let Jaden win on purpose…" My cousin trailed off in realization. The only thing I did was nod. "But that means he let you win as well?!" He then looked up at me in astonishment. "Apparently. No idea why though." I shrugged my shoulders. "Why would he want to duel Jaden and you, and want to lose? It doesn't make any sense…" "Beats me." I shrugged yet again. Again, I really had no idea why Aster Phoenix was so interested in dueling me…

Suddenly, it felt like everything around me stopped. It was like I couldn't even see Ben, or anything else in the room. It was as if I were in a place filled with bright, white light…

"_Serena…" _A male voice started calling from somewhere. I wasn't sure where exactly it was coming from, yet I could hear it clearly. It sounded so hypnotizing, and also familiar for some reason… I couldn't throw it out of my head. I wanted to know who was calling me, and I didn't want to stop looking… It was a bit frightening; it was as if I had lost complete control over myself!

"_Serena…" _The hypnotizing voice called yet again. "Who is it?!" I shouted with my eyes wide, not caring about my surroundings at all. _"Come…" _It encouraged. It was almost as if the voice knew I wanted to go looking for its source… "Where?!" I demanded, jumping on my feet. _"Come to me…" _With that, the voice started going away further.

I quickly put on my boots and ran out of the room, right towards the forest. _"That's it, come to me…" _The voice encouraged me. "Who are you?!" I exclaimed and was about to run into the forest, when…

"CUZO!" Someone was shaking me by my shoulders vigorously. My hand lifted itself up, and was about to slap whoever was doing that… Only for that person to grab my right wrist firmly. "SERENA, WHAT'S GOT INTO YOU?!"

At that moment, everything started coming back to me. I wasn't in that room anymore. Instead, I was right in front of Ben, who was the one shaking me and still holding my wrist.

I started shaking my head to completely get back to my senses. By now, I had no idea why he was acting like this in the first place. In fact, the last thing I remembered was two of us being in my room… "Ben, why are you doing this?" I looked at him in confusion. My cousin looked at me incredulously. However, he did take hands off my shoulders.

"Why am I doing this?" He repeated in disbelief. "First, you're shouting at nothing, then you don't notice me, run out, try to slap me, and now you're asking me that?!" "Wh… What? We were in my room, weren't we?" I tilted my head to left in confusion.

My cousin looked at me as if I had grown two more heads. "You're telling me you don't remember what just happened?" He demanded. "The last thing I remember is us being in my room!" I exclaimed, upset because he didn't seem to believe me.

By now, my cousin was gaping at me. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I had lost common sense. What I'd just told him _did _sound rather crazy… Was I going insane?

"Whoa, wait, wait," Ben motioned for me to listen to him with his right hand. "You're telling me you don't remember you were in a trance?" Judging by the tone of his voice, he _did _think I had gone crazy.

I looked up at him with a frown. "Trance?" I repeated in annoyance. "But you were!" "Benjamin, stop exaggerating." I glared. "Serena," He gave me a serious look. "I've called your name at least six times, but it was like you didn't hear me at all. You didn't do anything to even acknowledge I was in the room!" I was staring at him in surprise.

What was even worse, I _didn't _remember anything… What in the world just happened?!

"Fine," I grumbled. "But I still don't remember anything." I added more firmly. Ben gave me a hesitant look. "Please, I'm telling you the truth." I looked at him pleadingly.

Finally, my cousin let out a sigh. "As much as I think the whole thing is just nuts, I'll try to believe you." He spoke up. I sighed in relief. "Do you have any idea why this happened?" "None." I shook my head at his question.

"It's all so confusing…" Ben let out a groan. I nodded in agreement. "I wish I knew what just happened…" I frowned. "As much as I'd like to figure it out, I think we have more important things at the moment. We'll deal with your trance episode later." He finally declared.

I looked at him for a few moments before nodding. I still had a duel to win, and I wasn't even sure what exactly happened, we had absolutely nothing to help us… "If something like this happens again, then we'll react?" I asked, making him nod.

* * *

"Benjamin, let's get going!" I grabbed him by his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Don't panic." He looked at me disapprovingly. "I'm not panicking," I retorted while putting boots on my feet. "I just don't want to be late!"

"We _won't_ be late. We're just going out. The duel is starting in fifteen minutes." He responded calmly, putting on his blue shoes. I quickly took my Duel Disk. After that, he opened the door. I followed him outside, closing the door behind me.

* * *

"Wait," Ben stopped me just as we were passing one door. "What?" I gave him a questioning look. "Let's see whether Jaden wants to come along to watch the duels." He explained.

I frowned at once. Honestly, why was he bothering so much with that guy? If the fanatic wanted to be alone, then let him be!

Ben knocked on the door and then opened them. He came inside with me peeking over his left shoulder. "Jay?" He called. When I finally got a good view from behind my cousin, I could see him.

Jaden was on his feet with his arms folded and back against the wall. I couldn't help frowning. The look on his face was still as depressed as it had been this morning…

"Yes, Ben?" He asked simply. "Alexis and Serena are about to have duels in the arena. Do you want to come and watch with us?" My cousin suggested with a smile. "Sorry, Ben, but I'll pass." The brown-haired guy shook his head.

I couldn't believe it. From what I've seen of this guy so far, he definitely wasn't the type to turn down watching duels…

"Are you sure?" Ben raised an eyebrow. Jaden nodded quietly. "Come on, Ben. It's his problem if he doesn't want to go, let him mope there." I muttered to him. "Serena." He hissed at me angrily. "She's right." Jaden suddenly spoke up.

Both of us looked at him in surprise. "It's my problem, so just leave me be." He added quietly. I could have sworn he looked even more depressed now.

"Jaden, that's not what she meant," Ben started only to be cut off. "Just go, Ben!" The brown-haired guy repeated with a frown. Ben sighed but closed the door.

At that moment, a feeling of… _Guiltiness_ washed over me. For some reason, I was feeling bad… Why did I even say that?! Now I made the fanatic even more depressed! I could have kept my mouth shut, _but nooo, _Serena Accardi just had to go and open her big mouth…

"Congratulations, Serena." Ben grumbled and strode past me down the stairs. "Ben, I didn't mean it!" I responded frantically. "Then next time keep your mouth shut." He glared at me. I let out a sigh but followed him towards the main building.

I still couldn't help feeling a bit bad about what I'd just said…

* * *

When we walked into the Duel Arena, I could see most of the people were seated already. That was when Crowler ran up to two of us. "Since Atticus and Alexis will have their duel first, wait outside until I call your name." He told me. I simply nodded with a frown.

That was when Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastion and Chazz walked up to where we were. "Is Jaden coming?" Syrus asked Ben who shook his head. "I asked him to come, but he refused to." "Jay never misses a duel…" The short guy sighed. "I'm sure he'll be fine; he just needs some time off." Bastion folded his arms.

"Hope you're right, soldier." Hassleberry frowned. I stayed quiet, looking between all of the guys. It was technically my fault he refused to come… But why was I feeling sorry? He was a fanatic, and I shouldn't worry about them!

"Is that Mrs. Fontaine?!" Chazz suddenly pointed somewhere, bringing me back to reality. He was pointing at a group of girls sitting on left side of the arena. I turned around to see them better. All of the girls were sitting next to each other, in two rows.

They were wearing some sort of green jackets and white binds tied around their foreheads. There were some girls I had seen before… Chazz was right! Mrs. Fontaine was sitting right next to them, with the jacket and the bind as a bonus! I couldn't believe it…

Ben, Hassleberry, Syrus and Bastion were gaping at the sight along with Chazz. I, on the other hand, face palmed. "Somebody please pinch me." Ben pleaded. I quickly did so, making him yelp in pain. His green eyes widened yet again. "She's still there…" He pointed out the obvious. "Of course, she is, Benjamin." Chazz said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But… Isn't she a bit too old for this?" Syrus suddenly asked quietly. He had a point, I had to admit… All the other girls were teenagers, but she was standing out since she was obviously an adult! "I told you she was compensating for her old age." Bastion frowned.

All of us looked at him, wide-eyed. Was he asking for another detention?! Hassleberry then jumped on him. "Quiet, soldier!" He hissed, covering his mouth. "Please, Bastion, keep quiet. For your own good." Ben looked at him pleadingly. "If he keeps up this way, never let him near women." Chazz grumbled.

Suddenly, light turned off. Everything was dark. _"ATTENTION! Today's duels shall prove that our school is not only home of the world's future dueling stars; it's also the place where pop music legends are made!" _Crowler declared through his microphone.

"We'd better get going then." Chazz sighed before starting to walk towards the seats. "Are you coming, Ben?" Syrus looked at my cousin who shook his head. "Sorry, Sy, but I'll stay here with Serena so we can go through her deck once more before her duel." He told him sheepishly. "Oh." He nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, because if she loses, _both_ of you will have to sing." Hassleberry sighed.

"_Precisely_." Ben confirmed it. "Good luck then." Bastion said. I simply nodded. The three of them then left to join Chazz up on the seats. My cousin pulled me by my hand to the side. We were against the wall where no one in the arena could see us, right next to the exit.

Just as we were about to get out, something else happened.

"_Well, as you kids like to say, time to raise the roof off this joint! So, give it up for our first star, Atticus Rhodes!" _Crowler said through the microphone. My eyes widened in surprise once Atticus came flying down, his body tied to some strings while lights were on him.

"What in the world?!" I whispered to Ben frantically while Atticus was flying around, dressed in a suit. People were cheering like crazy, especially the girls from those two rows… "Let's just say Atticus loves being dramatic." Ben whispered back. I shook my head in disbelief while the guy finally landed on the dueling field.

I hated heights… How could he just fly over the arena like that?!

"Hey, at least he's not dressed as a clown." Ben told me cheerfully. I glared at him instantly, my heart rate increasing in panic at the mention of clowns. "Say that again and you're dead. I don't care if you're my cousin or not!" I growled at him.

Just the mention of the… _Clowns_… Made my skin crawl. I hated them more than anything! Kids thought they were funny, huh? Well, they _weren't_! They were scary…

"Fine, don't get your knickers in a twist." My cousin frowned. "Then don't mention those things!" I hissed at him.

Before we could say something anything else, light turned off. Smoke started coming from the entrance, making us cough and cover our eyes. _"Now, for his opponent, and sister, Alexis Rhodes!" _Crowler's voice could be heard.

By the time I could see again, there was quite a sight. Alexis was riding a moving swan carriage towards the dueling field. However, it looked like she was rather embarrassed about it. I couldn't blame her though. I sincerely hoped I _wouldn't _come in the same way because it was damn awful!

"Let's get moving." I pulled Ben by his hand and out of the arena. Once we were out, I took my deck and started looking through it. "You know, cuzo, I think all of your cards are there." He told me while looking at the cards in my hands. "Hopefully." I muttered.

I then looked at two cards he had given me. Hopefully they would help, because I had no intention of singing, _lo guiro_!

While I was looking through all of my cards yet again, Ben was apparently paying attention to what was going on inside the arena. I could hear him commenting on every move he had heard a second before.

"He… He summoned lamb tokens!" I heard him commenting at one point. Looking up, I could see my cousin frowning. My thoughts began racing. Lamb tokens, lamb tokens, I had heard about them before, I was sure… Yes, I _did_! Those tokens had zero points! Why he summoned _them_ though, I had no idea.

"Why? They have only zero points, don't they, Ben?" I asked him. Ben sighed. "It doesn't matter; he can still sacrifice them so his monster can attack. His panther can't attack unless he sacrifices a monster." He explained.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked down at my cards. From what I could hear inside, a lot of things were going on. I just didn't know what exactly. I was too focused on my deck to pay attention, until…

"SHE WON!" Ben shouted, making me yelp and my heart rate go faster. I quickly put the deck in my box and looked up to see him pumping his fists in the air. It was nice at least one of us didn't have to sing, that was for sure… But I was going to win too. I had to!

Suddenly, lights turned off. "I'm going to join the others now. Good luck." My cousin winked at me. "Thanks." I muttered with a sigh. "Hey," He put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I know you're going to kick Bonaparte's butt!" He smiled at me reassuringly. I simply nodded. After he gave me one more smile, Ben ran inside.

"_And now, for our second duel…." _My eyes widened once I looked to the side to see a man pushing a swan carriage. Oh, hell, NO! I wasn't going in like that!

I quickly ran inside before I could get embarrassed like Alexis. "Wait!" I could hear the man shouting. However, I didn't care. My goal was to just get into the arena… _"Give it up for Serena Accardi!" _Crowler declared, but then looked at me in surprise. Seeing smoke behind me appeared, I managed to avoid the embarrassment. A smirk appeared on my lips. Mission accomplished!

I climbed up the stairs towards the dueling field. Thankfully, there was no cheering. Crowler then cleared his throat. _"Her opponent shall be… Our vice-chancellor Jean-Louis Bonaparte!" _He declared. The light then turned on. I could see Bonaparte frowning at Crowler. However, he took the Duel Disk and jumped over a seat. He then walked to the opposite side of the field.

"I can see you're as unwilling to duel as me." I noted with a frown while shuffling my deck. "Let's just duel and finish with this, _voisine_." He huffed, putting his deck in the Duel Vest. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion once I heard those words. I looked up at him. "What does that word even mean?" I questioned.

Bonaparte sighed in what seemed to be annoyance. "_Voisine_ means neighbor, Accardi." He quickly explained. Oh, so _that_ explained it… "_Bene_," I started while putting my deck in the Duel Disk. "Let's get down to neighbor business, _il vicino_!" I declared. Both of us activated our Duel Disks/Vests.

**Bonaparte: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

We drew five cards each. "I'll start!" Bonaparte declared, drawing his sixth card. I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Here he was, a real gentleman…

"I'm summoning my Toy Soldier in Attack Mode!" He declared. A small soldier, dressed in red uniform appeared with a rifle in his hands**(****ATK/DEF:800/300)**. "I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." The French man finished.

I frowned while drawing my sixth card. Those little soldiers didn't look like such a big deal… However, I decided not to underestimate the fellow. He still had a rifle in his hands after all! Bonaparte's deck didn't surprise me though. French people _were_ known for the French Revolution and Napoleon… We were going to ignore that small stereotype about their army being weak. That would just (reasonably) piss off the French man.

After looking at the cards in my hand, I couldn't help smirking. It was my first turn, yet I've already drawn one of cards Ben had given me! Could my luck be any better?! "I'll begin with Ocean Amoeba in Defense Mode!" I spoke up. An amoeboid, blue creature, with inconsistent body shape and eyes appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:900/400)**. " I'll set two facedowns." I finished my turn.

Bonaparte drew another card. "There's one detail I forgot to mention, _Mademoiselle_." He spoke up with a smirk. "And that is, _Signore_?" I demanded. However, I was also wondering whether I really wanted to know… That smirk _wasn't _helping!

"If my Toy Soldier is on field during change of turns, I can automatically get two more from my deck and summon them to the field!" The French man explained, taking out two cards. Two more soldiers appeared.

I frowned. "They still have less points than my Amoeba." I pointed out. "It doesn't matter, because I'll activate 'Forced March'!" Bonaparte lifted up a card in his right hand. It glowed for a few moments. "By halving their Attack Points, I can have them attack you directly!" He clenched his right fist.

My eyes widened in surprise while Toy Soldiers started marching towards me. However, I then smirked. My neighbor was basically asking for his loss…

"I activate 'Fair Trade'!" I cried, just as Toy Soldiers came in front of me. The facedown lifted itself up, revealing Ben's Trap Card. I could see Bonaparte looking at the card in confusion. Smiling, I mentally thanked Ben for letting me borrow this thing. If he didn't, I'd lose at least 1200 points by now!

"When this card is activated, I can switch your direct attack to one of my monsters," I started. "And since Amoeba is the only one on my field, one of your soldiers has to attack it." I explained smugly. I may still lose some Life Points, but at least it will be worth it…

One of Toy Soldiers marched to the Amoeba. He fired a cork from its rifle, destroying the monster. I covered my eyes with a right arm. Then I quickly looked up to see two more Toy Soldiers marching towards me.

"Those two haven't attacked yet." Bonaparte reminded with his arms folded. That was when the soldiers fired their corks _straight _towards me. My eyes widened and I quickly covered my head with a loud yelp. Toy Soldiers, huh? Did they realize it was impolite to hit a lady?!

I let out a yelp of surprise once I felt something hitting me into head. It wasn't strong, but I could still feel it! "Damn it!" I exclaimed and quickly turned away from the field. I could feel something hitting me in the back. "_Cazzo_!" I cursed and started rubbing the place where I had been hit.

With that move, I lost 800 points.

**Bonaparte: 4000 LP**

**Me: 3200 LP**

Once I quickly recomposed myself, I turned around to face the man. "By destroying my Amoeba, you activated its Special Effect," I started as calmly as I could. "Once it's destroyed, you lose the amount of Life Points equal to its Attack and Defense Points combined."

"_Quoi_?!" Bonaparte's eyes widened in shock. "You heard me right." I nodded smugly. Blue light started glowing around his body, costing him 1300 points.

**Bonaparte: 2700 LP**

**Me: 3200 LP**

"I end my turn with a facedown." Bonaparte frowned. "SHOW HIM, SERENA!" I could suddenly hear Ben's voice from somewhere in the arena. "_Con piacere_, Ben. _Con piacere_…" I responded with a smirk while drawing another card.

I looked at it for a moment before nodding. "I activate 'Graceful Charity'," I lifted up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to draw three cards, but I'll have to discard two after." I drew three cards and put them in my left hand. I then took 'Nitrogen Boost' and 'Forest Fungus', discarding them.

Those cards were definitely useful, but I couldn't activate the former without Wetland Flycatcher… As for the latter, absorbing points worked more on monsters with higher ones, which wasn't the case with Bonaparte… He was good, I had to admit. His monsters may have been weak, but direct attacks made up for it!

"Then I'll activate 'Mother Nature!" I lifted the card which began glowing. "Once this card is played, I'm allowed to Special Summon a monster from my hand," I explained before taking another card. "And I choose Wetland Dingo!"

The dingo appeared on the field with a howl **(****ATK/DEF:2400/1800)**. "I'll also summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode." The plant appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1000/500)**. "Wetland Dingo, attack one of his Toy Soldiers!" I then cried, clenching my right fist.

"Not if I activate my 'Toy Cannon'!" Bonaparte suddenly shouted, revealing one of his facedown cards. A cannon with three Toy Soldiers appeared. My eyes widened in surprise. 'Toy Cannon'? What the hell was that thing supposed to be?!

"Thanks to my cannon, your monster is forced into Defense Mode." The French man smiled smugly. I looked at my monster, my eyes widening even more as it was forced into Defense Mode. Damn… "You also lose 400 points as a bonus!" He added.

I let out a growl while my Life Points fell to 2800.

**Bonaparte: 2700 LP**

**Me: 2800 LP**

Crowler played it smartly when he chose Bonaparte as my opponent… Ben could have told me everything about Crowler's deck, but no one has seen the French man dueling so far!

"_Questo significa la guerra_." I growled. "_C'est la vie, Mademoiselle_." The man smiled smugly. I quickly looked at my cards to see whether I could do something else during this turn. Thankfully, I could.

"I'll activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy one of your two facedowns." I took the card and lifted it up. Once of the facedowns lifted themselves up. It looked like some sort of chains. However, it was quickly destroyed. I didn't even want to _think _what those chains were supposed to represent… Thank goodness I managed to destroy it!

Seeing I had no cards in my hands now, I knew there was nothing else I could do. "I end my turn." I said simply.

"I activate 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards! Then I'll summon Toy Lieutenant in Attack Mode!" Bonaparte declared. A monster similar to Toy Soldiers, but with a bit different uniform with medals appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1400/900)**. It had a bigger rifle in its hands.

"And thanks to his summoning, I can activate 'Lieutenant's Command'!" The French man lifted up another card, which showed the Lieutenant marching alongside two soldiers. "By halving their points, two Toy Soldiers can join Toy Lieutenant in a direct attack!"

By now, I was gaping at Bonaparte. Those little idiots were going to attack me _again_?! What did I do to deserve DIRECT attacks?!

"But I'm not done with it, because I'll activate 'Fife and Drum Corps' to double Toy Soldiers' Attack Points!" The man used another card yet again.

A marching band consisting of several soldiers appeared. They marched up to those three. Toy Lieutenant and Toy Soldiers then marched up to me…

"I activate 'First Aid'!" I quickly exclaimed, revealing Ben's second facedown. "It gives me 150 Life Points for each monster you have on field." I explained the card's effect. "Since you have three, I think you know what that means…"

My points rose to 3250.

**Bonaparte: 2700 LP**

**Me: 3250 LP**

"It doesn't matter, you'll lose points nonetheless! FIRE!" Bonaparte shouted.

I let out a scream and quickly covered my head for the second time today. That was when I could feel one cork hitting me in the head yet again. "Damn it!" I cried, dropping hands off it. The second one hit me in a cheek, making me yelp in pain. But the third one hit me in the torso near chest, which was definitely the worst…

**Bonaparte: 2700 LP**

**Me: 250 LP**

Once I looked at my gear, a feeling of panic washed over me. I had only 250 Life Points left!

"_Mademoiselle_, I'm not done!" Bonaparte then said, making me look up in fear. What _now_?! "I activate 'Unequal Treaty'!" The man revealed his facedown card. "With this, you agree to lose 100 points every time you draw a card, and your loss becomes my gain!" He declared smugly.

My jaw dropped to the floor as he ended his turn. By now, I was in complete panic. My loss was practically there… He was going to win, and Ben and I were going to sing... Why?! I might as well give up!

"_You can't give up now!" The boy exclaimed. "But I have 100 points left." I told him with a sigh. "It's not over yet. Never give up, even when things look bad." He responded encouragingly._

I blinked for a few moments, processing what just flashed through my head. Another memory, that was for sure…

However, those words suddenly gave me a huge boost of confidence. The boy was right, this wasn't over yet… I could still turn things around if I had luck with cards! I had been in a similar situation before!

"My turn." I growled while drawing a card. I lost 100 points while Bonaparte gained them.

**Bonaparte: 2800 LP**

**Me: 150 LP**

Once I looked at it, a small smile appeared on my face. This was just what I needed! "I activate 'Card Of Sanctity'!" I cried. "Now both of us get to draw cards until we have 6 each." I drew 6 cards while Bonaparte drew cards as well.

After looking at all of my cards, I smirked. I had what I needed to win… "I'll summon Arctic Fox in Attack Mode." The fox appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**. "Now, attack his Toy Lieutenant!" I ordered, lifting up my right hand.

The fox ran to the Lieutenant and slashed at him with its claws. It was destroyed, costing Bonaparte 400 points.

**Bonaparte: 2400 LP**

**Me: 150 LP**

"Then I'll sacrifice Arctic Fox, Desert Rose, and Wetland Dingo to summon my Desert Cobra!" I exclaimed. Three monsters disappeared while I lifted up the card in my hand. The cobra appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:0/0)**.

"Now, for every card I send to graveyard from my hand, my cobra gains 1000 points!" I explained the monster's Special Effect. I then sent three cards, making it gain 3000 points.

Bonaparte frowned. "Not good enough to win. My Soldiers still have 800 points." He pointed out. "I'm aware of that." I sighed in annoyance. "Which is why I'll activate _this_!" I lifted up another card with a smirk.

"I activate my Field Spell, Earth!" I put the card in slot meant for Field Spells. Scenery around us changed immediately. It consisted of forest, wetland, desert, island, mountain, grassland, ice and ocean combined as one. Or, in other words, it contained a bit of every creature's natural habitat.

I could hear people gasping in the arena. I took a moment to look at the scenery. This was the first time I actually played this card in a duel, and I had to admit, it looked beautiful… I quickly shook my head to get back to my senses. I still had a duel to win!

"Once my field spell is activated," I started, making Bonaparte look at me. "All monsters' on your side of field decrease by 600, and mine increase for the same amount." I explained smugly. The snake's points rose to 3600. "_Sacre bleu_." The man's eyes widened. "That means…" "_Si_, Vice-Chancellor, this duel is over." I nodded with a smirk.

I then looked at my monster. "Desert Cobra, attack his Toy Soldier!" I ordered. The snake hissed and charged at one of the soldiers. It bit it with its fangs, destroying it in process. Smoke appeared, and Bonaparte covered his eyes while his Life Points dropped to zero.

**Bonaparte: 0 LP**

**Me: 150 LP**

I deactivated my Duel Disk and put my deck in the box on my waist. The monsters disappeared from the field. That was when it finally dawned on me. I… I _won_…

However, I realized everything was deadly quiet. Looking around, I could see Bonaparte frowning. Everyone else was looking at the two of us. I bit my lip. What was up with everyone being quiet?

As if they had heard me, there was no more silence. Suddenly, people stood up and started cheering loudly.

"CUZO, YOU WON!" Someone suddenly tackled me to the ground. I let out a yelp and quickly turned around to see Ben on top of me. "Yeah, I won," I let out a laugh. "But could you please get off me?" "Sorry." He did so and then helped me up.

Look on my cousin's face was pure happiness. "You totally kicked Bonaparte's butt, now we don't have to sing!" He shouted ecstatically. "You helped me with your cards." I reminded with a frown. "Yeah, but you still played them right." He grinned.

Suddenly, a pure feeling of joy washed over me. I was feeling so happy I wouldn't have to sing… I was feeling so happy I won! And knowing that felt so good…

Ben suddenly pointed at something to me. My eyebrows furrowing, I turned around to see what he was pointing at. I could see Crowler walking up to Bonaparte. Both of us were looking at Ben and me with frowns. We smirked in response.

"That was a good duel, _Mademoiselle_." Bonaparte said simply, with the frown still on his face. I was a bit taken aback by that comment. I could tell he was angry, so I didn't actually expect from him to say something like this... "Thank you, _Signore_. You sure gave me a run for my money with your direct attacks." I responded with a nod. He nodded as well before striding away. Crowler ran after him.

Ben's hand on my shoulder made me turn around. Chazz, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis and Bastion were walking up to us. "That was a good duel." The black-haired boy said simply. "Thank you." I nodded blankly. "Now we don't have to sing!" Alexis smiled. "Thankfully, because that would be a catastrophe." Ben let out a sigh of relief.

Alexis and I looked at him in surprise before the three of us burst in laughter. I couldn't help it, what Ben said _was_ true… Bastion, Syrus, Hassleberry and Chazz blinked at us for a few moments. However, they then burst in laughter as well.

* * *

"Are you completely sure I was in some sort of a trance back then?" I asked my cousin again to make sure. Right now, we were in my room. Sun was slowly setting, marking the end of the day.

Ben nodded. "I am. You literally didn't hear me calling you!" He argued. I sighed. I still couldn't remember what exactly happened during that time… But, thankfully, Ben had an idea what to do. He was the one who saw what my 'trance' looked like, since I wasn't aware of it.

"Fine then, call Aunt Maria." I pleaded. "I'll do it on Friday, and I'll ask her if she knows anything about trances." He nodded in agreement.

Once he said those words, I turned around to look through the window. First Yuki couldn't see his cards, and then I was in some sort of a trance… Things were getting stranger and stranger by the day here!

**Well, finally done with this chapter! **

**Words in Italian:**

**Bene-fine;**

**prego-you're welcome;**

**cugina-cousin;**

**con piacere-with pleasure;**

**il vicino-neighbor;**

**lo giuro-I swear;**

**Signore-Mister;**

**Questo significa la guerra-This means war.**

**Words in French:**

**Quoi-What;**

**C'est la vie-It's life.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	15. The Break-In

**Ghost of Magic****: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) Lmao, unfortunately that's the case with Serena seeing she prefers biology, and knowing Polymerization really is a biological process… Gives her a reason to poke fun at the card's name! ;)**

**This chapter takes place during 'I've Seen the Light'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Let's have another duel!" The male voice shouted excitedly. "You said only one more, which ended with you winning. Now we're playing something else." The female voice reminded pointedly. "I know, but I love dueling so much…" The boy whined. "I know you do. However, I won't play anymore for today. I want to play another game." The girl replied._

"_Fine…" The boy sighed. "We could always ask your aunt, Mum, Dad, and someone else to play Hana Ichi Monme with us?" He suggested. "I don't think that will work. Only aunt Maria is here." The girl pointed out. _

_That was followed with a sigh from the boy. "How about Onigokko or Janken?" He then asked. "As long as it's not Kancho, I'm up for anything!" The girl exclaimed. The boy burst in laughter. "I see you're well informed about our games." He was trying to stop laughing to no avail. "Of course, since they're the same thing, only with different name in Italian."_

_However, he still didn't stop laughing. "It's not funny! The boy from yesterday tried to do that to me!" The girl exclaimed. "I admit, I don't like Kancho either, at least when I'm the target." The boy agreed, finally calming down. "But we can always continue dueling?" He then asked mischievously. "Or we can always go collecting plants?" The girl suddenly demanded slyly._

_That earned her a groan. "Fine, you win. Choose, Onigokko, or Janken?" The boy asked. "Onigokko, of course." The girl replied happily. "Then Onigokko it is!" He agreed cheerfully._

"_What are you two up to?" A female voice spoke up. "We're about to play Onigokko!" The girl exclaimed excitedly. "Is that so?" A male voice questioned in amusement. "Yes!" Two kids chorused. "You'd better go play outside, or Serena's parents will go insane for running inside the house." The man noted. "Got it!" The kids exclaimed before running and laughing could be heard._

"JADEN! I'M NOTHING WITHOUT YOU!" Syrus' shouting could be heard outside the classroom. Looking at each other with raised eyebrows, Ben and I then raced inside (running past pissed Hassleberry).

Once we were in the classroom, I could see everyone looking at Syrus. The short guy was staring at the ground with what seemed to be a sad look on his face. He was seated in fourth row in the middle part of the classroom. Alexis, Bastion and Chazz were standing around the room, staring at the blue-haired guy.

"Jaden is skipping class today as well…" Ben sighed. "Apparently." I frowned.

It's been three days since my duel with Bonaparte. Everything's been rather calm since then, if we didn't count Yuki skipping classes. Ben was concerned about him, so were Syrus (hence today's mood), Hassleberry, Alexis, Chazz and Bastion.

I did understand why they were concerned about Jaden. He was their friend after all. However, I tried not to pay so much attention to that. As much as him being depressed _was_ kind of upsetting, I had no reason to worry. He wasn't my friend… Even though that slight feeling of guilt didn't leave me at all. It was so frustrating!

_The point _was, as much as the guy's situation was slightly upsetting, I had my own problems. I was eagerly awaiting Friday so Ben and I could finally get to talk to Aunt Maria. He would tell her about what happened on Monday, and I'd finally confront her about my memory problem. Today was Thursday, which meant I had to wait only one more day!

"Sy," Ben walked up to the short guy. "I get you're upset about Jay, we all are… But I think he needs a bit more time to recover." He told him reassuringly. "It's been _three_ days, Ben!" Syrus looked up at him sharply. "It may take a bit more time." My cousin pointed out.

"Is Jaden Yuki here or not?" The professor asked, obviously trying to hide his annoyance at lack of an answer. "No, he's not!" I shouted from my place next to the fourth row. "Thank you!" The man replied and started calling other students' names.

Ben sat down next to Syrus, obviously trying to comfort the guy. I sat in a free seat next to my cousin. Then I took out my herbarium, ready to just do more productive things than listening to stupid lectures about cards.

* * *

Once the class finished, everyone started walking out of the room. Ben, Alexis, Syrus, and Bastion started talking about something between themselves. I guessed Jaden was most probably their topic, so I stood up and headed outside. I really didn't need to hear about depressive things right now. Me being in this damn place was already depressing itself…

However, I did manage to see Chazz frowning at the quartet once I walked past him. Didn't know what got him so worked up at the moment, but it wasn't my concern, really.

**Third Person's POV**

It was another warm, November day in the city of Nagoya. Sun was shining brightly on the streets. Seeing it was 8 AM, people were getting ready for their jobs. In fact, some of them wanted to avoid the usual traffic jam which usually occurred at this time.

That's why Naomi Suzuki was racing throughout the house while brushing her short, blond hair. She was a psychologist, and she couldn't be late. Out of all psychologists in the city, she had most of the clients, which made her extremely busy. The same thing happened back when she lived in the Domino City (neighbor city, it was only two hours away from Nagoya).

She walked past her husband who was sitting in the kitchen, reading newspapers. "Dear…" He trailed off in astonishment just as Naomi walked in, buttoning her red, long-sleeved shirt. "What is it, darling?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Have you heard the latest news?"

The man worked as an engineer, and he was also incredibly busy. However, Ken was used to his schedule. He always woke up earlier to get ready, and buy newspapers from a nearby shop. Naomi would sometimes see him getting up at 6 AM. However, she was used to it as well, seeing her husband's job was more demanding than hers.

"No," The woman shook her head. "Could you read them while I'm preparing coffee?" "Sure." The man nodded. "Someone broke into Industrial Illusions last night," He started reading just as Naomi took a kettle and put it on the stove. "And stole some cards from the company."

The moment she heard everything; the woman forgot to turn on the stove. She turned around to look at her husband. "What?" She demanded in surprise, her eyes meeting his brown ones. Ken simply nodded with a frown. "Pegasus hasn't commented on the situation yet, nor has the company's spokesperson." He added after reading more from the newspapers.

"I thought they had good security; it _is _a hugely-successful company after all…" Naomi trailed off thoughtfully. "They haven't given details about the crime yet." The man told her. "It's still weird. Even Maria said the company's security would always be ready for something like this." She sat on the chair across her husband with a sigh.

Folding the newspapers, Ken looked at her. "Why don't we ask her what happened? She works there after all; she has to know." He pointed out. After a few moments of quiet, the woman nodded. "Fine, but only five minutes. We can still reach her during this time in California, and we have work." She reminded.

"I remember that, Bell Tree." The man looked at her seriously. "That's good, courageous one." She responded with a huff. But then, both of them burst in laughter. Naomi ran to their room to get her laptop.

Once she came back, she turned it on and started looking for Maria's contact number. Once she found it, she turned on the laptop's camera and started calling the Italian woman. For three minutes, no one answered. "Nothing?" Ken looked at Naomi. "No." She shook her head with a sigh, and was getting ready to turn everything off, when…

"_Naomi, is that you?" _Maria Accardi's voice could be heard from the laptop. "Yes, Maria, it's me and Ken." The woman nodded with a smile, distancing the laptop so her friend could see both of them.

Maria was looking at them from the screen in her chair. She was dressed in her business suit, and her dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail. "Long time, no see, Ken." The Italian woman greeted. "Nice to see you again, Maria." The man greeted back with a smile. "We've just heard about what happened yesterday," Naomi started. "However, newspapers didn't share any details." "We were wondering if you could tell us instead." Ken added.

At hearing those words, a frown appeared on Maria's face. _"Look, the situation in here is quite dire. I know what happened in general, since Pegasus and security are still looking through details." _She explained. _"Mrs. Accardi, Mister Pegasus won't be here for another hour at least." _A male voice suddenly said.

A guy with black hair and koala-like face, dressed in his business suit, appeared in the background. _"Chumley, I told you not to call me that while Pegasus and other people are not around." _The woman gave him a disapproving look. _"You're one of my son's friends after all." _She then added with a small smile. _"Sorry, but I can't risk mixing it up. If I called you that way while Mister Pegasus were here, I'd be fired." _The guy said sheepishly.

"_Fine, but once we're out of the building, call me Maria." _The woman sighed. Chumley simply nodded. _"I'm going for some coffee. We'll see the others once Mister Pegasus comes back from the investigation." _He waved before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

Naomi and Ken exchanged looks of confusion. "Who was that?" The latter asked curiously. _"That's one of my newest colleagues, Chumley Huffington. He used to go to Duel Academy until Pegasus offered him the job, and here he is." _Maria explained with a small smile.

"Wait, so he used to go to Duel Academy too?" Naomi repeated in surprise. _"Yes. He's one of Benjamin's friends." _The Italian woman nodded. Ken and Naomi looked at each other yet again.

"_Anyway," _Maria cut them off before the duo could say anything. _"As you already know, someone broke in here last night. The person stole some cards, but I'm not exactly sure which ones. What I do know is that it made Pegasus extremely angry. I had never seen him like that before…" _She frowned.

"How did he break in?" Ken raised an eyebrow. _"From what I've seen, he broke one window in the building. However, they have no idea who it was." _"But don't you have security cameras? They had to record what was happening!" Naomi pointed out perplexed.

Maria looked at them seriously. _"That's __**exactly **__the problem. It appears there's no footage from last night at all," _She folded her arms. _"It only made Pegasus even angrier. Reasonably though, since those cameras usually record everything, even what's happening at night." _"Maybe the thief modified them or something?" Ken suggested. _"If he did that, an alarm would be activated immediately, which wasn't the case last night." _The Italian woman shook her head. _"Absolutely no one knows how it's possible… But it is." _

"That's strange." Naomi mused. _"Yeah," _Maria nodded in agreement. _"I'm afraid I can't chat any longer though," _She then added while looking at her phone. _"They told me to come to the meeting room right away." _"We have work too." Ken pointed out. _"Look, I'll keep you informed about what's happening, alright?" _"Deal." The two said in unison. "See you." Ken then waved. "And good luck!" Naomi added before Maria hung up.

Once she closed the laptop, the woman looked at her husband with a sigh. "Breaking in at Industrial Illusions… Who would have thought?" "As much as it's surprising, I'm more worried about something else right now." Ken put a finger on his chin.

"What?" Naomi gave him a questioning look. "I hope nothing will happen at Duel Academy. Not while our son is there, at least." He folded his arms. "Ken, the Academy is perfectly safe for him!" The woman frowned. "They also claimed no one could break into the Industrial Illusions, and look what happened." Her husband pointed out. "You do have a point…" She finally agreed after realizing what he was talking about.

She then sighed. "I honestly think nothing bad is going to happen there though. Maria isn't concerned about Serena and her son after all. However, I'll write to him once I get back from work." She promised. "I don't want to think that way either. I just have this bad feeling, that's all." Ken explained. "I get it." Naomi nodded. "But we'd better get going or we'll be late!" She noted, running off to get her jacket.

**Serena's POV**

"Have you heard the news?!" Ben came running into the dorm's dining room frantically. Chazz, Alexis, Hassleberry and Bastion turned around to see what he was referring to. I turned around as well from my table where I was sitting alone and looking through my herbarium. "What news?" Bastion raised an eyebrow.

Ben slammed the newspapers on the nearest table. The others gathered around, with Ben joining them. I stood up and walked a bit closer. I then sat on a nearby chair, wanting to hear what made my cousin so panicked but also keep certain distance from others.

"Wait, someone broke into Industrial Illusions?!" Alexis demanded in astonishment. "Not just that," Chazz read, his black eyes going over the piece of paper. "Some cards were stolen." "Pegasus hasn't commented on the situation yet, neither has the company itself." Bastion noted with a frown. "They must be looking for the culprit, soldier!" Hassleberry pointed out.

My eyes widened in surprise once I heard their words. Someone broke into _Industrial Illusions_?! Aunt Maria always told me how it was well-guarded… So how was this even possible?!

"Hold on," Chazz looked up at my cousin. "Your mother works there, right?" He questioned. Ben simply nodded. "Then she must know what happened." The black-haired guy stated. "Most probably, but I won't hear anything from her until tomorrow. She's extremely busy." Ben explained. "Chumley works there too." Bastion spoke up. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion while all of them looked at him in realization.

I had no idea who that guy was… Although I could presume, he was Aunt Maria's colleague or something like that (based on what they said right now).

"Maybe we could ask him." Alexis nodded. "Benjamin, what's the time difference between California and Japan?" Chazz asked my cousin. "16 hours." He replied. "Sun's setting, and it's half past five right now." Hassleberry pointed out while looking at a nearest window. "Then that means it's half past one AM in California." Bastion groaned.

"Nothing until tomorrow then." Alexis sighed. "Ben, where did you get those newspapers anyway?" I asked my cousin. All of them turned around to look at me. "There's a newspaper stand in the card shop for those who want to stay informed about the news." Ben explained. I simply nodded.

Before anyone could say anything else, something else happened. I could hear the door slamming open quite loudly. In fact, it made me flinch in shock.

"CALL THE COAST GUARD! CALL THE MARINES!" Syrus suddenly ran into the dining room, shouting. All of us looked at him in surprise. He seemed to be rather panicked for some reason… "If it's about Industrial Illusions, we've already heard about it." Chazz frowned.

The short guy gave him a look of disbelief. "FORGET ABOUT INDUSTRIAL ILLUSIONS! JADEN'S GONE MISSING!" He then shouted at him. "What?" Ben, Bastion, Alexis and Hassleberry looked at Syrus as if he were crazy.

I couldn't help feeling the same way. How in the world was a random student supposed to leave this island?! I mean, getting out of this crazy place _was _a smart idea… But _how_?! He couldn't just steal a helicopter or something like that!

"Jaden grabbed all of his stuff and just took off!" The blue-haired guy explained frantically. "Then we'd better split up and find him before it's too late." Ben quickly jumped up. "Sy, you look around the main building," He looked at the guy who nodded. "Lex, you search the beach," His eyes briefly landed on the girl. "Bastion, look around the eastern part of the forest," The British guy gave a nod. "Hassleberry, search the part around the Slifer dorm," "Got it, soldier." The guy nodded. "Chazz, go to the northern forest area," "Whatever…" Chazz muttered, sounding unimpressed. "Serena and I will look around the western part of the forest, and Obelisk and Ra dorms." I simply nodded, not knowing what to say.

As much as I thought Jaden wanting to leave was his problem, I still felt a bit bad for what I told him a few days ago. I had no idea why, but I just couldn't get rid of guilt. I was going to help them look for him so I could have my conscience clear, that was it.

* * *

"Did you find anything?" Ben asked me once two of us ran into each other. By now, it was completely dark. My cousin had searched the area around Obelisk Blue dorm, while I did the same with the Ra Yellow dorm. However, there was no sign of the fanatic at all.

I shook my head with a frown. "No sign of him." Ben let out a groan. "I didn't find him either." He then looked at me. "We still haven't looked through this part of the forest." He pointed out. "I guess you want us to go in there too?" I presumed.

"Yes." He nodded. "You go right, I'll go left." He pointed at two sides. "We'll meet here in an hour?" I guessed. "Si. Now go!" He ran to the left. I turned to the right, walking inside the forest.

* * *

Once I entered the forest, I noticed something quite weird. Mist was all around the trees. It puzzled me, since this day was quite warm. Even tonight's temperature didn't fall under 20 degrees! Sometimes, it tended to be colder in forests than out in the open, but it wasn't cold here, and there was no reason for mist to appear… What in the world was going on in here?!

For a half an hour, there seemed to be no sign of the fanatic at all. It was as if he had literally disappeared in thin air…

"FAN…" I quickly stopped myself from shouting out the 'fanatic' word. "JADEN!" I shouted for the hundredth time today, with hands over my mouth. "LOOK, THIS ISN'T FUNNY, SO COME OUT!" I then added, walking around the forest. "Not that I think it is, but I just want the fanatic to come out _in case_ he's hiding…" I then muttered to myself sarcastically.

Unfortunately, me calling fanatic by his name was utterly useless. He wasn't here…

That was when everything around me stopped. For a moment, I thought I was in a place filled with white light… But I wasn't. Instead, for some reason, my eyes were focused only on what was in front of me. It was as if someone had narrowed my view to the front part… I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to!

"_Serena…" _A male, hypnotizing voice was calling me from somewhere deeper in the forest. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't throw the voice out of my head. It sounded quite familiar; I just couldn't figure out why…

However, that only made want to follow the voice even more. I wanted to know why he was calling me, and who it was… By now, my common sense has completely left me. In fact, it was as if I had lost complete control of my body. I would say 'don't follow mysterious voice', but it was as if I had been stripped of my free will!

"Who are you?!" I shouted, racing deeper into the forest. _"Come to me…" _The voice encouraged. "I will, but where are you?!" I shouted yet again, and was just about to run even faster…

When it stopped. I could feel everything around me becoming normal once again. My view wasn't narrowed to the front anymore, and I regained control of my will and body. Since I did, I immediately stopped running.

Once I completely realized what just happened, I gaped at my hands in astonishment. This was what Ben was talking about back then, I had been in a trance indeed… And now it happened again!

I frowned while remembering the conversation I had with Ben a while ago. He saw everything back then, yet I didn't remember it for some reason… But now I did! I remembered what the feeling was like, and what I was about to do! I was going to follow a random voice during dark… Sheer stupidity.

However, I still couldn't remember who was calling me. That was the only thing missing in the whole thing. I couldn't remember it, no matter how much I tried to! Despite that, what just happened made me even more impatient about tomorrow's talk with Aunt Maria. Maybe she would know something!

Now that this was over, I had to go forward and search the part for the fanatic… But was that a good idea? The voice came from that direction!

Seeing it was already getting late, I decided to go a bit forward. In case I noticed something odd, I'd just scream and turn on my heel. That sounded reasonable enough… "_Mamma mia._" I muttered to myself in disbelief. However, that didn't stop me from continuing the search.

During next five minutes, things were absolutely the same. I would call out the fanatic's name, receive no answer, and keep going. It all changed immediately after.

Since I turned my head to look back while walking, I didn't notice a huge tree branch. My eyes widened once I turned around and saw it near my face. Luckily, I ducked and avoided it with a yelp.

"Since they have such a huge forest, why don't they at least take care of it?" I questioned aloud once I stood up. By now, I was looking at the huge branch which nearly collided with my face. "Maybe they don't want to go into forest. They know they'll get lost…" I then mused to myself, touching a nearby tree. I immediately recognized it as Evergreen oak. Southern Japan was characteristic for this type of trees….

Walking to another tree next to the oak, I started observing it. This was Chinquapin… Another tree characteristic for southern Japan.

That was when I remembered why I came here. I wasn't here to look at the trees (even though that sounded a lot better); I had to find that fanatic!

Just as I was about to go under the huge branch, something on the ground caught my attention. There was a card lying in front of my feet (if I had moved any further, I probably would have stepped on it). Some hair strands were all over the card.

I frowned. Someone must have dropped this thing while passing over here… It cost that person a bit of hair too, considering he apparently didn't watch where he was going.

I bent over, wanting to throw away strands and just take the card. Once I took the thing in my hands, I was about to blow the hair off… When I finally saw its length and color completely. Even though it was dark, it could be perfectly seen on the card. The strands were a darker shade of blue. My eyebrows furrowed in thought while I picked one of hair strands and lifted it up. I wanted to see how long it was.

The strand was incredibly long; it went from my eyes to nearly my knees. I looked at it completely, wide-eyed. I would recognize that hair anywhere, my younger self would squeal with joy whenever I saw that person entering the house… Yet I still couldn't help feeling shocked. This was the last person I expected to hear about after all this time, and this was the last place where I expected that to happen… This must have been a mistake!

I quickly looked at the card. My eyes looked over it in confusion. A lady was on the card… Her dress was white, red and black. She was carrying a bouquet of flowers in her hands, and a lamb was peeking from behind her dress… Once I looked at the back of the card, I couldn't deny it anymore.

I've seen those tarot cards so many times I now knew what they looked like… This one may have been new, but its design was similar to the ones I had seen earlier! He would always carry those cards with him; he would never leave them…

"_Sartorius _was on this island…" I trailed off in both realization and astonishment.

* * *

I was pacing in front of the forest back and forth in nervousness. Actually, I was waiting for Ben to come back impatiently. I had to tell him about what I found back in there, and what that meant…

I was also trying to process everything. Sartorius, the person who went missing with his sister Sarina nearly over a year ago, had apparently been on this island. Why he had been here, I had no idea. I didn't know why he never answered any of calls. Hell, I didn't even know where he was right now! Don't get me wrong, I was happy I finally had some clues about his whereabouts, but I was more worried right now about lack of answers.

"Serena!" Ben's voice brought me back to reality. I turned around to see him running up to me. "Did you find Jay?" He asked me curiously. Except that he never received a vocal answer. Instead, I lifted up the tarot card and hair strand I held in each of my hands respectively. I lifted them up right in front of his face so he could see them.

My cousin gave me a perplexed look. "What?" "Sartorius." I said in one breath. "What about him?" He raised an eyebrow. "Take a look." I said impatiently, motioning with my head to the things in my hands.

He frowned but looked at both of them back and forth. After a few moments, his eyes widened. "Are those one of his tarot cards and hair strand?" He asked in astonishment. "Yes." I replied with a nod, putting my arms down. "Sartorius was on this island." I then added with a frown.

By now, Ben was staring at me as if I were a lunatic. "What makes you think he was actually here? He disappeared a year ago!" He pointed out in disbelief. "Ben, Sartorius _never _leaves his tarot cards lying around. He must have dropped this one due to a huge branch being in his way." I explained firmly. "Besides, doesn't this hair strand prove it to you?" I then added, pointing at the thing in my left hand.

"It _does_ look like his hair, it's just that…" He trailed off uncertainly, making me look at him expectantly. "It's just that this whole thing is bizarre." He rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, first we don't hear from him for over a year, and now it turns out he was here? Why didn't he answer to our calls? What was he doing here in the first place?" "That's what I'd like to know as well…" I trailed off with a frown.

Ben's green eyes looked at me. "We'll tell Mum about this tomorrow. Until then… Did you find Jaden or not?" He asked. "No." I shook my head. "Me neither." He replied with a sigh. "Come on, let's catch up with the others. Maybe they had more luck." He then grabbed me by my hand. We started walking away from the forest.

* * *

"Please tell me at least one of you found Jaden." Ben pleaded once he and I entered Slifer Red's dining room. Right now, Bastion, Hassleberry, Alexis and Syrus were inside, talking to each other by a table.

Once they heard Ben's voice, they turned around to see us walking in. "No." They chorused. "Chazz isn't back yet. We're waiting for his report." Bastion added, folding his arms. "What could have kept him so long?" My cousin raised an eyebrow in confusion. "No idea." Hassleberry shrugged his shoulders.

"I just hope he didn't disappear either…" Syrus trailed off. "He has a point. It's getting pretty late." Alexis added. "Has any of you noticed something unusual?" I suddenly spoke up. I was hoping they may have accidentally come across Sartorius or something like that. A crazy thought, yes, but it didn't hurt to ask…

All of them looked at me. Syrus shook his head while still looking at me warily. Bastion and Alexis shook their heads with frowns. "I saw a small plane flying away from the island a while ago," Hassleberry spoke up.

Ben and I looked at him, and then exchanged looks of surprise. If my assumptions were correct, that was Sartorius…

"When was that?" Ben asked his friend curiously. "About half an hour ago, I guess." The guy shrugged. "Thanks." My cousin smiled. He then sat to talk to his friends. I, on the other hand, sat by a furthest table away from them. I then looked at the card in my hands.

While I was happy I finally managed to get some trace about one of two people missing, this only brought up even more questions… And no answers. I couldn't wait to tell Aunt Maria about what we had learned. She would hopefully tell us about what happened at her company, and what was up with my problem…

* * *

The next morning, Ben and I were outside the Slifer Red dorm. After expressing his concern over Chazz's disappearance (it was a bit concerning, I had to admit), he and I finally decided to call Aunt Maria.

Ben took out his phone and dialed his mother. She answered the phone after a few seconds. _"Ben?" _Her voice could be heard over the line. "Mum, Serena and I wanted to ask you about something and tell you as well…" My cousin started, only to be cut off.

"_I'm sorry, Ben, but I can't talk right now. The situation here is quite dire. I'm sure you heard about the break in." _Aunt Maria quickly replied. "That's what we wanted to ask you about…" I started, but was cut off as well. _"Look, I'll call you in a few days once the situation calms down, alright?" _"Fine." Ben and I chorused with sighs. She then hung up.

My cousin and I looked at each other. "There goes our plan…" He sighed. "More waiting…" I let out a groan, just as we were walking into the dining room. Ben was about to close the door behind him, when a hand stopped him from doing that.

Chazz walked in with us. However, his appearance was completely different. Instead of his usual black clothing, he was dressed in what resembled Ben's Obelisk Blue uniform. However, this uniform was completely white with lavender trimming on different places of the blazer.

I couldn't help feeling confused. Why in the world was he dressed like that?!

"Chazz?" Ben looked at him in disbelief, making Hassleberry, Alexis, Bastion and Syrus (who were behind Ben and me) turn around. "We were beginning to think you disappeared too!" The short guy shouted in relief. "Are you alright?" He then asked him. "Yup, never better." Chazz replied with a smirk, avoiding eye contact with all of us.

That was when the four of them finally noticed what he was wearing. They looked at him from head to toe perplexed. "Um… You look different…" Syrus pointed out. "What's with the wardrobe change, soldier?" Hassleberry questioned. "My thoughts exactly." Ben muttered from next to me.

"It's more than just a wardrobe change," Chazz finally looked at us. "I finally woke up, and I've seen the light!" He smiled smugly.

By now, I was convinced Chazz had gone off the deep end. "Congratulations, so you've finally stepped outside and seen the morning's sunshine." I spoke up sarcastically with my arms folded. Ben, Alexis, Hassleberry, Syrus and Bastion looked at me.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me by my jacket violently. I let out a yelp of shock and looked to see Chazz holding me by my jacket's collar. His black eyes were looking into mine, showing pure anger. The same could be same for the look on his face.

"What the hell, Princeton?!" I glared, but couldn't help feeling a bit scared. From what I've seen so far, he has never been aggressive… "Don't you _dare _mock me or _them_!" Chazz roared at me, making me look away in fear. By now, my heart was beating so fast, and I wanted this to stop…

"Chazz, let go of Serena!" Ben managed to free me from Chazz's hold with a growl. "What's got into you?!" He then gave his friend an incredulous look. "Them, Benjamin. They made me see everything better." The guy gave my cousin a smug smile.

"Who are 'they' you keep talking about?!" Syrus finally asked impatiently. He, and the others were still a bit shocked by what had just happened.

Ben put an arm over my shoulders protectively. I muttered him a quick 'thanks', still feeling a bit shaken by what just happened.

"The Society of Light, Syrus! They hold all the answers!" Chazz replied and started laughing.

I could see everyone looked rather uneasy. Without another word, Bastion, Syrus, Hassleberry and Alexis walked out of the dining room. Ben and I followed them immediately.

"Are you alright?" He asked me once we were outside. "Yes, just a bit shaken…" I replied with a nod. "Chazz never loses like that. I don't know what's got into him…" He frowned. "Next time, please don't say anything like that in front of him." He then added. "After that, I sure wasn't intending to." I replied with a frown of my own.

I then looked at the sky. First someone broke into Industrial Illusions, then Jaden had gone missing, I had been in another trance, Sartorius had been on this island, and now Chazz was acting the way he was… What in the world was going on here?!

**Well, that's the end of this chapter! For those curious about games mentioned at the start, I'll give a brief explanation. 'Hana Ichi Monme' is a game similar to Red Rover. 'Onigokko' is actually tag, while 'Janken' is Japanese equivalent of Rock, Paper, Scissors. 'Kancho' is a prank which can also be considered as an assault, which is why Serena and the boy from the flashback don't like it.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time!**


	16. Epiphany

**Ghost of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! :) Yup, shit can officially begin lmao…**

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing! :) Technically, yes, lol! Well, I'm glad you think so too, because Serena being a bit of a jerk is intentional at this point in the story. I don't want to spoil anything else though, but I'm really looking forward to writing future chapters… ;)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) The only thing I'll say is that Yubel will be portrayed as a female in my story once Season 3 kicks off, while Serena distinctly recognized the voice as a male one… ;)**

**This chapter takes place during 'No Pain, No Game'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Come on, future King of Games. Let's see if you can catch up with me in running!" The girl shouted playfully. "Surely it can't be harder than dueling!" The boy responded mischievously. _

_Running around and shouting could be heard, until a pair of footsteps silenced them. "Are you two running inside the house again?" A male voice presumed with a bit of disapproval. "Well…" "Kinda…" The girl and the boy trailed off nervously. "I told you yesterday not to do that here, but outside." The man reminded them in a serious tone. _

"_Let them go, brother. They're just kids." A female voice spoke up. "Run along, you two. I need to talk to my sister." "So, we can run?" The boy questioned curiously. "No." "Then why did you say 'run along'?" The girl laughed. "Just go." The female voice quickly said. _

_Running footsteps could be heard. "Sarina, the last time you told me 'to let them go', they broke a lamp in the living room. Chiara was livid." The male voice then pointed out seriously. "But this time, there's no lamp they can break?" The female voice let out a laugh. _

"_This is funny to you?" The man asked in both realization and disbelief. "Brother, loosen up a bit. They may be seven, but I don't think they're that immature to break everything. In fact, I think they learned their lesson yesterday." The woman responded gently. _

_Suddenly, sound of something breaking could be heard. "You were saying?" The male voice asked sarcastically. "What was that?" The girl questioned in surprise. "What object is it this time?" The man sighed. "We didn't break anything!" The girl and the boy then chorused. _

"_Don't blame the kids. I dropped the plate." Another female voice came from somewhere. "Maria…" The man sighed in relief. "You just scared my brother to death." The woman started laughing. "I told you to loosen up a bit!" She then added gently. The other woman started laughing along with her. The boy and the girl started laughing as well. Finally, the man joined the laughter which could be heard even outside the house._

Once I couldn't hear an answer on the line, I hung up yet again. Looking at my phone yet again, I threw it at my bed in annoyance. I then turned back to the table while still sitting on the chair. I was used to not getting an answer by now, yet it annoyed me even more by now…

It's been a while since Jaden disappeared. It's been a while since Ben and I figured out Sartorius had been on the island. Since then (I guessed that while was actually a week or two), we haven't been able to contact Aunt Maria, nor ask about what happened at her company.

After Chazz had assaulted me, I made sure to avoid him as much as I could. I had no idea why in the world he was so aggressive… But I _didn't _want it to happen again. Ben usually tried to talk to him a bit, but kept his distance. The good thing was, Princeton wasn't willing to talk to me either. He still kept repeating that 'I've seen the Light' crap… But to everyone in general.

I really didn't understand what the thing with the Light was. How could you see the Light?! I mean, you saw it pretty much every day thanks to Sun! It made me convinced Chazz was probably on something.

Maybe that thing had after-effects, which involved aggression… Those were just wild guesses, of course. I had no idea what the reason really was, even though he really _was _acting as if he were on drugs… Or a part of a sect. Wait, he _did _talk about something called 'the Society of Light'… Si, that sounded like some sort of a sect, alright.

Anyway, after finding the tarot card, I tried to contact Sartorius once again. He never answered my call, of course. By now, that was nothing unexpectable. I've been used to it since last year. However, one part of me had hoped he would answer, after Ben and I found out he had been here… I even tried the same with Sarina, only to receive no answer (not surprising).

That's why I threw the phone at the bed in annoyance. I was fed up with not having my calls answered, yet that was nothing new… It was frustrating!

Letting out a sigh, I turned my attention back to things on the table. The tarot card and the album were lying there.

Once I looked at the card again, I put it away with a frown. Why Sartorius didn't answer the call, I had no idea. He never answered it for the past year, but now we really knew he had been here, which made me annoyed. He was so close, yet out of reach… It made me wonder whether Sarina was with him. The two had always been close…

I took the album in my hands and started looking through it. Most of the pictures were the ones I'd seen before. I hoped I could come across something else, like that birthday card from before… However, I had no luck.

"Serena!" Ben's voice could be heard outside my room. Looking up from the album, I raised an eyebrow. That was when he slammed the door open, running inside. "Mum said we can call her right now!" He exclaimed with a grin.

A smile appeared on my face, and I started feeling excitement. Finally, we would hopefully get some answers from my aunt! "Then what are you waiting for?!" I asked in disbelief. He quickly started calling Aunt Maria. After about few seconds, she finally answered the call. Ben quickly put it on the speakerphone, so I could hear her as well.

"_Children, I can finally talk." _Her voice could be heard from the phone. I let out a sigh of relief. About damn time… "Mum, we have plenty of questions for you." Ben then told her. "And a lot to tell you." I added. _"Fine, fine," _She chuckled. _"Just one thing at a time, please." _

My cousin and I exchanged questioning looks, wondering what to ask first. "Industrial Illusions." We muttered to each other determinedly. "We want to know what happened at the Industrial Illusions." Ben then told his mother.

Aunt Maria let out a sigh. _"I guess you've already seen it in the news." _"Yes, but we want to hear it from you." I responded. _"Someone broke in and stole some cards. We're still not sure how he managed to do so, but Pegasus was extremely angry about it." _She stated. Ben and I exchanged brief looks of confusion, before looking at the phone in his right hand.

"What do you mean when you say you don't know how he stole the cards?" He frowned. _"We know he had broken one window to get inside. However, the security cameras failed to catch the culprit on the screen." _She explained.

That really sounded weird… Cameras were supposed to catch everything, so how was this possible?! Industrial Illusions was one of the most well-guarded companies in the world!

"Maybe he did something to the cameras?" I suggested. _"No. If he had tried to, an alarm would have been activated immediately." _Aunt Maria replied. "Then what happened that night?" Ben asked in disbelief. _"No one knows. Further investigation didn't help at all. Pegasus is doing all he can to catch the culprit, but nothing has happened since then." _She stated.

The whole thing sounded fishy to me… How could someone get away with it like that?!

"_Forget about Industrial Illusions now," _Aunt then waved it off. _"I'll keep you informed in case we know more, but now tell me what you had wanted to say earlier." _"Mum, what do you know about trances?" Ben asked her curiously. _"Well… Not much. Why?" _She questioned.

He looked at me briefly. "Should I tell her?" He whispered. "Don't tell her about me, she has enough problems right now." I whispered back. He nodded with a frown before turning his attention back to the phone.

As much as I wanted to tell Aunt Maria about the 'trance' thing, I had a feeling she would be even more worried. I _didn't _want that. She had enough problems right now, with that break-in after all… Ben and I would try to solve that thing ourselves.

"No particular reason. Just tell us, please." He pleaded. _"From what I know, hypnosis is usually used in psychology as an aid for Hypnotherapy." _She finally said. "That's it?" I asked, unsuccessfully trying to hide my disappointment. _"From what I know, yes." _My aunt replied. "Don't worry, we can find more in the library." Ben suddenly whispered to me. "Thanks, Mum." He then told his mother over the phone.

"Aunt Maria," I then started. "Ben and I think Sartorius had been on this island a few days ago." I quickly said. It was quiet for a few moments. _"What did you say?" _Aunt finally asked in astonishment. "Serena found one of his tarot cards and some hair strands in the forest here. One of my friends even said there had been a small plane on the island." Ben explained.

"_Are you sure?" _She questioned. "One hundred percent." I nodded with a frown. _"Any idea what he was doing there?" _"No." Ben shook his head. "We'll tell you if we find out more." I promised. _"Fine." _She let out a sigh. "There was one more thing I wanted to ask you." I then added. _"Go ahead." _She told me.

My eyes landed on my cousin. "Ben, could you leave us alone for a few minutes?" I asked quietly. "Why?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's personal." I explained. "I'm your cousin, you can tell me anything." He frowned. "Ben, please…" I pleaded. "Fine." He groaned and gave me the phone. After that, he walked out of the room.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I looked at the phone. "Aunt Maria…" I started, wondering how to form the question in my head. I couldn't exactly tell her 'I know you and the rest of the family are hiding something from me so spit it out'…

"I was wondering if you could tell me more about Domino City?" I finally spoke up. _"Why?" _My aunt asked me warily. "Well… It's just that… I've been having these strange flashbacks for a while, and…" I started, only to suddenly be cut off. _"What flashbacks?" _She demanded. "I'm not exactly sure. I know they involve a boy and me, but I don't even know his name… I do remember some of things now though…" I trailed off perplexed.

"_Serena, I think you had hit your head somewhere." _Aunt Maria said incredulously. "But Aunt, I _didn't_! I even found a birthday card from someone who introduced themselves as my best friend and neighbor!" I argued. _"I don't know what you're talking about." _"Aunt Maria, wait…" She hung up. Just like that.

A feeling of slight anger washed over me. How could she do that?! "AUNT MARIA!" I screamed at the phone angrily, knowing it wouldn't do anything but help me get rid of fury. I knew I was losing it… But right now, I didn't care. All those days of waiting, and all Aunt did was pretend I was crazy?!

"What happened?!" Ben suddenly ran into the room. "Your mother wants to keep lying to me along with the rest of the family, that's what." I growled, wanting to throw the damn phone to the ground… Only for Ben to take it out of my hands. "If you want to throw a phone, then do it with yours, not mine." He frowned.

I opened my mouth to tell him he wasn't helping… Only to close them. I sat on my bed with a sigh and hands on my head. "What happened? Why were you screaming at Mum?" He sat next to me with a perplexed look. Looking at him, I frowned.

I couldn't keep this a secret from him anymore, he'd most probably heard something. Besides… I had to tell someone, I had to confide in them… I just hoped he'd believe me.

"For a while now, I've been having flashbacks," I started while playing with one of my strands. "Which I had previously thought were hallucinations." Ben was observing me with a frown. "However, they're not. I remember some of those things now, but not everything, and it's so confusing…" "Wait, wait," He cut me off. "You're trying to tell me you have some sort of amnesia?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded before taking off my left glove. I lifted up my arm, showing him the bracelet on the wrist. "You see this? It was apparently given to me by my best friend and neighbor for my seventh birthday. However, I don't remember any of it."

Ben's green eyes went over the bracelet curiously before looking up at me. "And this is apparently a birthday card I received from him. I don't remember any of that either." I gave him the card to look at it. He looked at it with a frown. "What's his name?" He questioned. "I don't remember that either." I admitted.

"And what does Mum have to do with any of this?" He asked expectantly. "She, Uncle and my parents know what I don't." I folded my arms. "When I first found this bracelet, Mum wanted me to give it to her at all costs. Aunt Maria tried to say as least as possible about that subject." "Wait, so you believe Mum is lying to you?" He suddenly demanded accusingly.

My eyes widened slightly at his accusing tone. Of course… I should have expected he wouldn't believe me that easily. Ben was really close to both his mother and father. Hearing anyone talking bad things about them would always make him angry. Me being his cousin was no exception.

"Yes, I do." I responded firmly. "No offense, Serena, but that's just insane. Mum would never lie!" He glared. "Do you prefer the term 'keeping secrets'?" I asked sarcastically.

He kept looking at me with a frown. "Ben, I'm telling the truth!" I gave him a pleading look. It was quiet for a few moments. "While I refuse to believe Mum would lie to you," He started with his arms folded. "I'll try to believe you about your memory problem." I sighed in relief. "We can discuss everything later though. We can go to the library tomorrow. I need to go tell others details about that break-in." He added.

I simply nodded while putting on the glove. Taking the album and the tarot card in my hands, I followed him outside the room.

Ben entered the dining room. Just as I was about to follow him inside, a hand caught my right wrist violently. I yelped in surprise and quickly turned my head to see who it was.

"What are you doing with that card?!" Chazz was glaring at me, still holding my wrist tightly. "None of your business, Princeton." I growled and tried to take it out of his hand. However, his grip was too tight… What have I done this time?! I kept my mouth shut around him!

"I think you haven't understood me, Accardi." The guy growled back at me, tightening his grip on the wrist. It really hurt now… I resisted the urge to groan though. I _wasn't _going to show him that it hurt me. "Princeton, let go of me!" I threatened icily. "Not until you give me that card." His black eyes looked at the tarot card in my right hand.

My eyes landed on the card as well. "I _won't_." I spat angrily while looking up into his eyes. "How dare you say 'no'?! That's Master's card, you have _no right _to claim it as your own!" He shouted at me. "I _don't give a damn _about your 'Master', I won't give it to you nonetheless!" I retorted. "It belongs to him!" "No, it belongs to someone I care about!" Both of us were glaring daggers at each other by now.

"One more time, Princeton. Let go of my wrist, or you'll regret it." I warned with a quiet growl. "I won't let go until you give me that card!" He retorted. "Fine, you asked for it." I responded icily.

I then quickly hit him into his groin with my knee. The guy shouted in pain and started clutching the area where he had just been hit. I quickly looked at my wrist. Thankfully, there was no damage done to it.

"Serena, what did you do?!" Ben asked, running out of the dining room. Alexis, Hassleberry and Bastion were peeking from behind the door. Their eyes landed on Chazz (who was still on the ground) and then looked at the sight in astonishment. "The idiot wanted to assault me again, I had to defend myself." I told Ben with a huff.

My cousin tried to help Chazz up, only for the guy to push him away. "Get away from me!" He growled at him. His black eyes then looked right into my light blue ones. "You'll pay for this!" He declared furiously before marching away. "I have _no _intention of paying anything." I responded with a growl.

"Serena…" Ben gave me a disapproving look. "Ben, he's the one who started it first. I told him to stop, but he didn't listen!" I explained, frowning. "We'll talk about this later," He shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, you three, I'll explain the details to you somewhere else." The three of them nodded before walking out. Them and Ben started walking to what I presumed was the room my cousin was sharing with others right now.

Letting out a groan, I looked at the tarot card in my hand. Why Chazz wanted this so badly, I had no idea. However, I _wasn't _going to give it to him. That was clear enough. There was thing I couldn't understand though. Who was that 'Master' Chazz had mentioned? Was he the leader of his sect, or something?

Deciding not to bother with Chazz's insanity anymore, I was about to walk inside the dining room. However, just as I was about to open the door, I noticed something was… Off.

Usually, whenever I would want to walk in during dinner time, Jaden would come, and ask me a lot of questions such as 'how's it going', 'what do you think is for dinner', and some others… In fact, I would come across him a lot here on campus… He would be the one to run up to me of course. He would be the one to start up the conversation almost every day, and he would never lose a smile on his face, no matter how rude I was… I didn't even understand why I was so interesting to him!

But now? There was no Jaden. There was no 'how's it going, Serena'. Out of everyone, he was the only one who tried to befriend me, even though I kept trying to push him away… But now? He was gone. It felt… _Weird_… I've got so used to him trying to talk to me that I… Found it unusual he wasn't here to do so anymore. In fact, I wanted to see him trying to talk to me again, even though he may have been a bit annoying…

Wait. What was wrong with me? Did that mean I actually… _Missed_ the fanatic? That was just stupid! It just felt empty and different without him. Yes, _that was it_.

Once I was in the dining room, only Syrus was inside. He had a magazine in his hands, and he was looking at it in worry. I frowned in confusion while putting the card and the album on a nearby table. Usually, Syrus would cry loudly about Jaden not being here. Honestly, that was something I didn't care about… However, now, he was so quiet… I could have sworn I've even seen tears brimming in his eyes.

Frowning, I realized this wasn't about Jaden. In fact, at that moment, the short guy reminded me a bit of myself… I had problems of my own, and sometimes, I wanted to just burst in tears because it didn't seem to be going anywhere! With only Ben here and sometimes Aunt Maria calling me (and now lying to me, actually) it felt rather lonely all of a sudden…

Only Ben was here, really. Aunt was busy, plus she wasn't being honest with me… Sarina and Sartorius were both gone, with the latter appearing and still not answering. I was in contact with less people than when I was first told I'd attend the Academy…

Raising an eyebrow, I took the things from the table in my hands. I then walked to the table where Syrus was sitting. A part of me, the one which agreed with me about avoiding people, told me to get away from the table and act as if nothing happened. However, the other part, the one that saw something was wrong, encouraged me to come closer. I knew avoiding fanatics was a better option… But, the curiosity got better of me. He reminded me so much of myself right now, that I had to at least ask him what was wrong.

"Syrus," I started while sitting by the table, right across him. "What's wrong?" I asked curiously. The moment I asked that question, the short guy's head looked up at me. "Why would _you_ care?!" He demanded angrily. His mood was quick to switch from sad to angry as soon as he spoke to me, I had to note. But, hey, that _was_ my fault… What was I expecting, really? That he would just tell me what the deal was?

"Fine." I said simply, about to stand up… "Wait! Sorry for reacting like that!" Syrus suddenly jumped up, making me stop to look at him. "No, I get it." I shook my head with a frown. Just as I was about to stand up though, he suddenly grabbed me by my right am. "Please don't go." He pleaded.

By now, I was gaping at him. He _didn't _want me to leave? A while ago, we were threatening to jump at each other's throats, and now _this_?! What caused the sudden change in behavior?

Seeing the sincerity in his grey eyes, I simply nodded. He let go of my arm and sat down. "Why?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" He gave me a questioning look. "Why are you being so nice to me? Why are you even _apologizing_?" I elaborated with my arms folded.

"I had no right to lash out on you like that because of my problems." The short guy responded meekly. "But you had every right! I've been rude to you ever since we met…" I pointed out. "You _did _apologize for walking in on Hassleberry and me." He looked up at me. "I've been rude to you nonetheless." I frowned.

Syrus let out a sigh. "Look, it's true you don't really act… _Considerate_." I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words but stayed quiet. "And it's true you seem rude most of the time," His grey eyes were now looking right into my light blue ones. "That's why I found it hard to believe Ben when he said you were nice. I thought he was only defending you, since he's your cousin after all." He explained.

"It was even more unbelievable to me that Jaden always wanted to talk to you. Whenever I asked him why, he would say you seemed like a nice person." "And I definitely don't seem like that." I commented with a knowing look. "You _don't_." Syrus agreed. "That's why I couldn't fathom what Jaden was referring to. At first, I thought it was because he liked being friends with everyone, it's _Jaden _after all…" He trailed off while looking to the side.

His eyes then landed on me yet again. "But days went by, and he was still insistent on wanting to talk to you. Hassleberry and I even tried to talk him out of it, but he would simply ignore us. When we asked him why, he would again say you were nice. I even asked him how you were supposed to be nice if you were so rude all the time…" I raised an eyebrow at the last part in curiosity. Now I was really interested in hearing what Jaden had to say at that one…

"He said how you may have seemed rude sometimes, but that he could tell you weren't a bad person." Syrus folded his arms. I blinked at him in surprise.

How he was able to tell what kind of person I was, I had no idea… Especially after the way I had treated him!

"But now I can see what he was talking about." Syrus looked at me. "What?" I gave him a perplexed look in response. "You're not a bad person, just like Jaden and Ben had said." "Where did you get that conclusion from?" I raised an eyebrow. "You've just asked me what's wrong. You had apologized to Hassleberry and me earlier. And while your habits and avoiding people _are _questionable… A bad person wouldn't do what you had done." A small smile appeared on his face.

By now, a part of me was telling me to stop listening to the fanatic and just get out of here. It told me even talking to them was bad enough, since all of them were the same more or less… While the other one, kept telling me to stay, especially with how sincere Syrus was. I could see his sincerity as well, especially after he had said how I wasn't a bad person… I couldn't walk out like that, even if I wanted to.

"I don't know… I guess, once I saw you sitting there, you reminded me of myself whenever I had problems." I shrugged my shoulders. It was quiet for a few moments. "Enough about me," I then spoke up. "What's the matter?" I asked him.

At hearing those words, Syrus let out a sigh. He took the magazine and turned it around so I could see it. "You see that guy over there?" He pointed at the guy in a black and white picture. I frowned, remembering him as Syrus' brother from the duel we had watched that night. However, I couldn't remember his name…

I simply nodded to the short guy. "That's my brother Zane." "The one from the duel with Aster Phoenix?" I remembered. "Yes." He nodded. "He graduated from Duel Academy last year, and has started his career at the Pro League recently."

A sad look appeared on Syrus' face after those words. "Unfortunately, ever since he lost, it hasn't been going well. He lost eleven duels in a row, and has been bumped out to the amateurs…" He pointed at the words in the magazine. I read them with a frown.

11 duels in a row? That was _a lot_…

"He's practically hit rock bottom, he's the butt of everyone's jokes now…" The guy trailed off sadly, making me look away from the magazine. I looked up to meet his eyes.

It looked like he was really worried about his older sibling… It was a bit surprising to me, since I always believed fanatics cared only about themselves and their cards, not about other people's feelings…

"_What am I going to do without you?!" The boy was crying while hugging me. "I don't want to leave you either!" I sobbed, hugging him back._

I blinked in confusion, trying to process this sudden flashback. I had no idea what caused it this time. However, I could clearly remember how I was feeling back then. I was feeling a lot of pain and sadness for some reason…

The boy and Syrus were the proof that… Fanatics _didn't _care only about stupid cards. The former was crying along with me in that memory, and the latter was worried about his older brother. Syrus was in the exact same situation like me right now, with worrying about someone they cared about… Fanatics would only care about one thing and dismiss others, which clearly _wasn't_ the case with people I'd met so far… They had feelings, just like me.

It was only now I realized that… My hatred for those cards and anyone who had them made me want to believe they were terrible people! It made me want to hate them! It made me treat them as if they were different from me, whereas they had feelings, and felt pain, just like me… And I let that hatred twist my way of seeing things…

While I still hated those damn cards, and while I still didn't understand why those guys liked them so much… I couldn't call them fanatics anymore. I just couldn't. It suddenly felt quite wrong of me to do… They cared as much as I did! They were worried about their friend missing, who had been so kind to me while I was acting so… Stupid…

I still didn't want to have friends either, since they liked something I hated… But I would try to acknowledge their feelings from now on.

"He… Has another duel in ten minutes, but I'm afraid he'll lose." Syrus' voice brought me back to reality. "You never know, he might win this one." I spoke up quietly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then someone opened the door.

"Sy, Zane's match is beginning in ten minutes!" Ben's head was peeking from behind the door. "I know." The short guy nodded and stood up. I stood up as well, suddenly feeling this urge to go and at least see the end of the duel. After what Syrus had just told me, I had to… I would worry about my problems after seeing whether his brother had won or not.

I took my album and the tarot card, following the two outside. "Serena?" Ben gave me a perplexed look. "Mind if I come and watch along with you?" I asked quietly. Both him and Syrus looked at me in surprise. "Sure… Go ahead." My cousin nodded.

* * *

Once we entered the room with the TV, some people were already inside. Bastion, Hassleberry, Alexis, Atticus, and two unknown girls were talking between each other when Ben, Syrus and I walked through the door. As soon as we did, all heads turned in our direction.

"We're not late?" Ben guessed. "No, it's about to begin." Atticus shook his head. The two boys nodded and started walking down the stairs. I followed them, but couldn't help noticing wary looks two girls were giving me. One of them had auburn hair, while the other one had dark hair styled in pigtails behind her back. Both of them were dressed in Obelisk Blue uniforms.

I decided to ignore them though, and followed my cousin. He sat on the floor behind Syrus on his left. I sat next to Ben, seeing the girls were already sitting on stairs along with Atticus. Bastion was standing by stairs, while Hassleberry was on the floor, a bit behind Syrus on his right.

The reporter then introduced Zane and the other duelist. However, Zane's new look was what surprised me once the camera zoomed in on him. Instead of the Obelisk Blue uniform, he was now dressed in all this black clothing… I could see everyone in the room was rather astonished. Syrus' eyes were the widest, with his mouth hanging open.

The duel didn't even last three turns. Zane beat the opponent on his second one. Actually, he didn't beat him. He beat the _hell _out of him! His monster had 4500 Attack Points before it attacked the opponent directly… The poor man was literally lying on the ground with smoke coming off the field.

Shivers ran down my spine at that moment. The way the guy dueled was so aggressive… It frightened me a bit. Was it possible people could be this merciless when it came to dueling? Even though I hated it, even I could tell this was too much!

"_WHAT A WIN FOR ZANE TRUESDALE!" _The reporter shouted on the TV. _"Could it be that he's back on track, folks?" _The camera zoomed in on Zane's face, showing this smug look…

Suddenly, someone turned off the TV. Looking around, I noticed it was Syrus who had done it. The remote was in his hands after all. "What in the world was that?!" Ben was the first one who spoke up. "Soldier won in a brutal way." Hassleberry pointed out the obvious with a frown. "His monster's Attack Points astounded me…" Bastion trailed off in astonishment.

"He literally sent the man to the ground!" Atticus exclaimed in surprise, while Alexis and the two girls were staring at all of us quietly. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see a look of worry etched on Syrus' face. However, it quickly changed to a frown. "That guy in black clothing is _not _Zane." He declared, trying to sound firm.

None of us said anything else. Ben and I exchanged looks of astonishment. I couldn't help feeling scared. If this was the way Syrus' brother dueled now, then how many other duelists did the same thing, if not worse?

**Finally done with this chapter! I hope you liked it and until next time! :) **


	17. The Return

**Ghost of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! :) And yes, Chazz is meant to be a bit more aggressive in this version while brainwashed by Light... ;)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) I'd rather say this is sort of a shock for Serena rather than actual fear… You do have a point there lmao. However, let's wait for Sartorius to officially appear first, and then see what happens next… ;)**

**This chapter is loosely inspired by 'Camaraderie Contest' and 'Homecoming Duel'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Kids, where are you?!" A female voice shouted. "We're here, Aunt Maria/Mrs. Accardi!" The girl and the boy shouted. "I told you to call me Maria." The woman said disapprovingly. "Sorry, Mrs. A… Maria." The boy corrected himself._

"_That's better, alright. Now, are you two hungry?" She questioned. "You're even asking?" The girl asked in disbelief, making the woman laugh. "Just you or both?" "Same goes for me." The boy added quietly. "No need to be so shy. You're my niece's friend from class after all." The woman pointed out cheerfully. _

"_What do you want me to cook?" She then asked. "Could you cook something Italian, please?" The girl pleaded. "I'd love to, but we have to see whether that's fine with your friend. Have you ever tried anything of Italian cuisine?" The question was directed at the boy._

_It was quiet for a few moments. "No. Mum and Dad cook, but they're rarely home." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "What do they usually prepare?" The woman asked curiously. "Fried shrimp, tempura, onigiri and sushi." The boy replied. "So that means only Japanese cuisine…" The woman concluded, muttering to herself._

"_Well, how would you feel about trying something new?" She then suggested. "Sure." The boy responded after a few moments. "Trust me, a good choice. Aunt Maria's cooking is as good as your mother's__." The girl whispered. "Whatever it is, just let it be for eating because I'm starving." He whispered back, earning a laugh from her._

"_Kids, come to the kitchen!" The woman called. "Do you know anything about Italy or our food in general?" She then asked. "Mum and Dad mentioned Italy a few times, so did Serena…" The boy trailed off uncertainly. "I think it's a country in… Europe?" He then guessed. "It is." The woman confirmed. _

"_Serena, what do you suggest for cooking?" She then asked. "A difficult question, Aunt Maria…" The girl sighed. "Why?" The boy voiced his confusion. "Everything she cooks is good, that's why." She let out a laugh. "Plus, there are a lot of Italian dishes in general." The woman added._

"_Risottos, pastas, pizzas, lasagnas…" The girl started counting. "Just pick a random thing. I think your friend is confused enough as it is." The woman pointed out in amusement. "No, I just never heard of those things!" The boy defended himself in panic. "Relax, I'm just joking around." She told him reassuringly. "Carbonara." The girl finally said. "A good choice." The woman praised._

I threw the book away with a growl. It landed on the ground, right next to my bed. "Still nothing?" Ben guessed from his sitting position next to me. "Nothing. That's the last book about hypnosis." I sighed. "There's nothing here either." He pointed at a book in his hands.

He then closed it with a frown. "Those are all of the books about it from the library." "Not much of them, really." I pointed out in annoyance, motioning to only three of them in the room. "This is a school for _dueling_, _not psychology_, _cugina_." My cousin reminded. "Fair enough." I agreed reluctantly, seeing his point.

It's been some time since Aunt Maria called Ben and me. She hadn't called since the day she hung up. Ben guessed she was most probably busy, with that 'Industrial Illusions scandal' still being a hit topic. Maybe that _was _the case… But I couldn't help feeling as if she wanted to avoid talking to me.

In the meantime, Ben and I tried to find out more about trances in general. However, we were failing miserably.

"So that means finding out more about your trance goes through the window." Ben groaned while putting it on the ground. "It appears so." I frowned. "You said the voice was male?" He repeated what I had told him. I nodded. "But you can't remember who exactly it is?" I nodded yet again. "Goes through the window." I pointed out the obvious with an eye-roll.

However, Ben remained quiet. His eyes were closed and his arms were folded. It looked like as if he was deep in thoughts… "What's the deal?" I asked him a bit perplexed. "Don't you think," He started, opening his green eyes to look directly at me. "That it's a bit weird?"

By now, his words made sense to me. What was supposed to be weird here, I had _no _idea.

"A bit of elaboration, _prego_?" I looked at him expectantly. "Think about it." He let his arms fall to each side of the bed respectively. There was this serious look on his face… "You heard that voice while searching for Jaden. And then you just _happened _to find Sartorius' tarot card and some hair strands…" He finished sarcastically.

By now, I was utterly confused. Why was he bringing Sartorius into this whole thing?! The problem with his mysterious appearances and disappearances were something completely else!

"What are you trying to say?" I demanded with a frown. "Did it cross your mind that… Maybe he was the one behind it?" Ben asked slowly. "Behind what, Benjamin?" I asked, hoping he _wasn't _implying what I thought he was. "Maybe he was the one who tried to put you into trance?" He elaborated.

That was it. At that moment, I felt only anger. The thing was, I had no idea who exactly I was angry with. On one side, I was still a bit mad at Sartorius. His disappearance _was_ worrying… But then he just showed up on this island out of the blue. That meant he could have called or said something about being fine! Even though I _did_ want to find him and Sarina, that small part of me was still upset…

On the other hand, I was mad at Ben for even _thinking _about Sartorius being behind this. While he and Sarina _were_ acting weird the last time I heard from them… That still didn't prove anything! I've known them long enough to know he'd never try to hurt me! I thought Ben knew him better than that…

_I let out a cry of pain while looking at my bleeding knee. "Serena, what happened?" I looked up to see Sartorius running over to where I was. "I hurt my knee…" My five-year-old self cried; my face full of tears just as he kneeled to look at it. "How?" He then looked up at me with a frown. "I wanted to jump off the swing, but fell off it…" I tried to brush off my tears._

"_I told you that was dangerous for kids your age." He gave me a look of disapproval. "I know, but I wanted to try it, other kids did so…" I replied. The look on the man's face softened. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute." With that, he ran into the house._

_He came back with something in his hands. "Sarina is better at this, but since she's not here…" He started applying something to the bleeding knee. I flinched in pain once I felt my knee stinging. "I can't apply this if you keep flinching." The man told me sternly. _

"_Sorry." I looked down in embarrassment. That was when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I know it stings, but please, do try not to move." I looked up to see him giving me a soft look. "Fine." I nodded. He started applying the thing to my knee once again. It stung, but I did my best not to move._

_The wound stopped bleeding after a few minutes. No sooner that, I had a plaster on my left knee. "That should do it." The man sighed in relief. "It still stings a bit." I frowned while touching the plaster._

"_Don't touch it. It should stop stinging soon." I then looked up. "Thank you!" I cried, jumping up to hug the man. A few moments later, I was hugged as well._

"How dare you?" I asked in a quiet, yet threatening tone. "What…" "He was cut off. "Where the hell did you get that crazy idea from?!" I glared, feeling even more anger as his insane idea sunk in. "I know you don't like how that sounds, but think about it!" Ben retorted with his hands lifted in the air. "Think about what? How you're accusing _Sartorius_ out of all people of doing something he'd never do?" I growled.

"Serena… You found his tarot card in the forest after hearing that voice, and you hadn't seen him for at least a year! Those things lying in the forest, the voice, and his sudden appearance can't be a coincidence!" Ben argued. "Nice to see how much faith you have in people…" I trailed off sarcastically.

By now, I was even angrier. I _refused _to believe in Ben's crazy idea.

"Serena, I know you're close to both him and Sarina… But those things look way too much coincidental!" "Sartorius can see the future, _not _hypnotize people." I countered with a smug smile. I couldn't help feeling victorious since I found a flaw in his insane theory. "Seeing the future is not exactly a common thing either." My cousin pointed out. "Which means?" I glared. "Maybe he can hypnotize people too, but he never told us!"

"Benjamin, do you hear yourself?! You sound like an insane man!" I retorted incredulously. "I know it sounds insane, but…" "Take it back." I growled, cutting him off in process. "What?" "Take that crazy idea back. Sartorius would never try to hurt anyone." I elaborated with my eyes narrowed. "Fine, fine, it wasn't him." He rolled his eyes with a sigh.

That was when his eyes widened. "If we don't hurry up, we'll be late for class!" He reminded, pointing at my alarm clock. "Wonderful." I commented sarcastically, but stood up nonetheless. After taking my herbarium and putting on my red boots, I followed Ben outside the room.

* * *

Once the class finished, Ben and I walked out of the classroom. "That went rather quickly this time." I pointed out, my arms holding the herbarium tightly against my chest. "Of course, since you weren't paying attention." He rolled his eyes.

After a few moments, he frowned. "Can I see your bracelet?" He suddenly asked me. "What?" I looked at him perplexed. "The bracelet on your wrist. Can I look at it better?" He explained. "Uh… Sure." I nodded. After taking the glove off my left hand, I grabbed the bracelet. I took it off and gave it to my cousin.

I had no idea why he suddenly wanted to see it… But if it helped, then I was all up for it!

My eyebrows furrowed as my cousin took the bracelet with only his thumb and index finger. He lifted it up, while looking at the object from all sides. Finally, his green eyes landed on the charm in the center. "A rather good design for a simple bracelet…" He trailed off, sounding impressed.

Ben then looked up at me. "You said it was a gift for your birthday?" He repeated. "It appears so." I nodded. "And the person who gave you had the same one?" Another nod came from me. "Those bracelets used to be a limited edition only about 10 years ago in Domino City. They also used to be sold in pairs." I then added. "As in, two of them?" He raised an eyebrow. I nodded yet again.

"How do you know that?" He asked. "A girl from West Duel Academy told me those things. She tried to get same one, but failed." I briefly explained. "I see…" My cousin trailed off. "If this thing is really ten years old, then it's in a really good shape." He noted. I couldn't help agreeing. The bracelet still looked as if it was new!

My eyes looked away from it, landing on Ben instead. "Why are you asking anyway?" I questioned. "I… I think I'd already seen an identical bracelet before, that's why." He finally said. "It's possible people are still wearing this." I shrugged my shoulders. "No, Serena. I'd seen it _here_, on this island." He looked at me seriously.

My eyes widened in surprise. Was he… Was he serious?! I kept staring at him, only to receive a nod. "I'm not joking."

"Where did you see it?!" I asked, still a bit surprised. "Dorothy was looking after it a year ago in her shop. She claimed someone had dropped it inside, so she was waiting for its owner to show up." Ben explained. "Did he?" "He did, but I don't know who it was." He frowned.

"Don't you realize what this means?" He then looked at me, giving me back the bracelet. I put it back on my wrist, and then put my glove on. "What?" "You lived in Domino City ten years ago, right?" "Yup, even though I barely remember it." I nodded. "Those bracelets are from that place too, and since Domino City is in the same country as Duel Academy…" Ben suddenly started pacing back and forth.

That was when a look of realization appeared on his face. "Aha!" He breathed, hitting his fist against his left hand. "That's it! Why didn't we think of this sooner?!" He face palmed. "Care to explain it?" I asked a bit annoyed. "Cuzo," He turned around to look at me. "Doesn't this make everything clear?"

Once he saw I was still quiet, he sighed. "The boy who gave you that thing referred to himself as the future King of Games. You lived in Domino City back then. Since Duel Academy is the only one in Japan… That means the boy could be on this island for all we know!" A smile appeared on his face.

By now I was staring at him wide-eyed. That thought didn't occur to me at all… Yet… It seemed to be _slightly _possible…

"But that bracelet could belong to anyone." I then pointed out with a frown. "It could also belong to your former neighbor." Ben argued. "Besides, if you were same age, and he loved dueling so much, then he would most likely be here out of all places!" "You do realize we're basically guessing? This isn't precise at all." I pointed out.

"Better that than to sit around with nothing to lead you." He countered. "A good point…" I had to agree. "So, if we go with the logic of that boy being here…" "He's technically not a boy anymore." Ben reminded. "_Guy_, excuse me… Then how can we know who it is?" "We can always ask Dorothy who took that bracelet." He suggested. I simply nodded. That sounded like a good idea…

However, before anyone of us could say anything else, shouting could be heard.

"JADEN'S ONLY GOT _ONE _BEST FRIEND, AND THAT'S _ME_! AND I DON'T NEED A RIDICULOUS JACKET TO PROVE IT!" That sounded like Syrus. "DON'T GO DISSING MY JACKET! YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS CUZ WE'RE A TWO-MAN ARMY!" Hassleberry was the one shouting this time.

Ben and I looked at each other. "_What the hell _is this all about?!" I exclaimed incredulously. "Well…" Ben rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Syrus and Hassleberry both consider Jaden their best friend, so now they're arguing over who exactly it is out of two of them." He explained with a laugh. "_Mamma mia…_" I shook my head in disbelief.

Even though I did my best to respect people's feelings now in general, I found this situation to be quite stupid. If they wanted to hang around Jaden so badly, then there was no point in fighting! They were acting as if they were in kindergarten…

"YOU'RE JUST A THIRD WHEEL!" "THEN I'LL ROLL RIGHT OVER YOU!" Shouting brought me back to reality.

Suddenly, growling and kicking could be heard. WAIT… Did they REALLY start kicking each other?!

"BEN, HELP!" I could hear Bastion shouting. "COMING, BASTION!" Ben shouted back and started racing downstairs. I did the same, wanting to see the fight with my own eyes. As much as fighting was bad, I had to admit it was a bit amusing… They were fighting over… A guy!

By the time we ran downstairs, there was quite a sight. Syrus and Hassleberry were either hitting, pushing, kicking, pulling each other's hair (Syrus' case), or scratching each other (again, Syrus). Bastion was apparently trying to stop them before Hassleberry pushed him away. By now, he was staring at the fighting duo in disbelief.

"Alright you two, that's enough!" Ben shouted and tried to split them apart calmly… Only to be pushed away violently. He let out a loud yelp just as Bastion and I caught him, preventing him from falling. "Incredible…" Bastion face palmed. "Any idea how to stop them?" My cousin asked him just as we helped Ben stand straight. "If you're asking about a calm way, then _no_. They pushed both of us away."

"Hassleberry sure is strong…" My cousin trailed off. "Any ideas, Serena?" He then asked me. "I do have one…" I folded my arms. "But it's not exactly a calm one. You just can't do that with those two idiots." I frowned. "Just stop them before they really hurt each other!" Bastion urged. "Fine, but you asked for it." I grabbed my herbarium.

I marched right towards where those two were fighting. "ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!" I roared. However, seeing they were practically ignoring me, I decided to go for the last option. They were basically doomed by now…

Lifting up my herbarium, I smacked it against Hassleberry's head. It echoed pretty loudly, I had to note. The moment I did that, the taller guy stopped hitting Syrus. "OW!" He shouted in pain and grabbed his head with hands. "SERVES YOU RIGHT!" The short guy declared, continuing with scratching the guy. However, that soon stopped because I smacked his head with my herbarium as well. "OW!" He shouted too, holding his head.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" They then roared at me together angrily. Good to see they were in agreement at least about this… Just like the time I accidentally walked in on them. "Next time don't fight like kindergarteners." I smiled smugly at them.

That was when Ben and Bastion walked up to us. "Calm down. We told her to stop you." The former stated. "Yes. This whole thing is getting ridiculous." The latter agreed with his arms folded. "Did you really have to hit us with that thing?!" Hassleberry glared at me. "Did you two have to start kicking the heck out of each other?" I retorted with hands on my hips. He frowned but stayed silent. A small smirk appeared on my face.

However, it quickly disappeared once I saw in what state both of them were. They had some cuts all over their bodies, and some of them were pretty nasty… If they didn't get them treated, they could get infected or worse!

"Come on, you two," I started, making all four of them look at me in surprise. "Let's get those wounds treated." "Mrs. Fontaine is not at the infirmary right now. She won't be until tomorrow." Ben told me. "We _do _have first aid kit at our dormitory if I remember correctly…" I looked at him. My eyes then landed on those two.

"Wait, you know how to apply it?" Bastion asked in slight surprise. I simply nodded. "Then let's get you two there." He pushed those two towards the exit of the hall.

I started walking after them with Ben next to me. "Since when do you know how to use first aid?!" He looked at me wide-eyed. "I've known that since my twelfth year." I explained, placing the herbarium under my left arm.

"Who taught you that?" He questioned, apparently still surprised. "Sarina and Sartorius." I responded with a small smile. However, I was met with a look of confusion on his face. I let out a sigh. "When I was younger, I used to get in a lot of nasty situations. Since they were the ones to treat my wounds, they figured I might as well learn it myself." I explained with a shrug.

"Oh." He said simply. We walked out of the building without another word.

* * *

Once we were in the renovated part of the Slifer Red dorm, I quickly raced to the dining room. Thankfully, I found a first aid kit lying under one table. I then raced back to where the others were.

Alexis joined Bastion, Ben, Syrus and Hassleberry inside. Once I entered the room, I put the kit on the table. "Can we help?" Bastion asked. I nodded while taking some plasters and a soap out of the kit. "You can put plasters on less serious wounds, and on those I clean." I suggested. Ben, Bastion and Alexis looked at each other, and then nodded to me.

At one moment, Hassleberry turned his back. My eyes widened in surprise. Jaden's face was at the back of his jacket… Now I knew what Syrus was referring to back there. I couldn't help finding it quite ridiculous and a bit creepy. To which lengths were those two going to go during this whole fight over their 'best friend'. How stupid…

That was when I remembered why I was here. I had to clean their wounds! After shaking my head to get rid of the stupid jacket image out of my head, I let out a deep breath.

I then took washcloth out of the kit. Seeing I had what I needed, I walked to the bathroom to wash my hands first. I then drenched the washcloth and put a bit of soap on it. Once I was done with it, I walked back to the main room.

Ben, Alexis and Bastion were already putting plasters on the guys' less serious wounds. Seeing Hassleberry was closer, I walked over to him. "Do you mind?" I asked. He shook his head with a frown. I nodded before starting to clean area around his wound on left arm. I then did the same to the one on his other arm.

Damn, he and Syrus really beat the hell out of each other… They were serious about fighting over being Jaden's best friend! While the idea of fighting over being friends with someone was ridiculous to me, I had to admit them wanting to kill each other because of that was a bit frightening. If I didn't break them apart, those wounds could have been even worse… Okay, I doubted they would actually _kill _each other, but they could still do some serious damage!

Seeing there were no more serious wounds, I looked up to meet the guy's dark eyes. "Wait for me to clean Syrus' wounds, and then I'll put some ointment on yours." I told him. "Thanks, soldier." He responded with a nod. I simply nodded back before walking over to the first aid kit. I took another washcloth and more soap, getting ready to drench the former in the bathroom.

Once I did so, I walked over to Syrus. Right now, Ben and Alexis were with him, still putting some plasters on cuts. They moved away so I could sit and treat his wounds. I immediately started cleaning the one near his left cheek, and on his neck. "Ow!" He winced in pain. "Don't move." I frowned at him, still cleaning the kneck wound. "Cut me some slack, I'm the victim here!" "Then next time don't go into a fight." I pointed out a bit annoyed.

"Yeah, he's a victim, alright. A victim of poor combat training!" Hassleberry shouted, making us look at him. "Scratching and hair pulling are illegal maneuvers! That's why _I _deserve to be Jaden's best friend!" He glared.

I let out another sigh. Honestly, I didn't think anyone gave a damn about what was legal and illegal in fighting with someone… Their goal was to just beat them to the ground, end justified the means! Yup, Machiavelli definitely influenced a bit my way of thinking…

"This war is _still_ on!" Syrus declared, clenching his fists and trying to stand up… Only for me to pull him down by his right arm. "How about you _wait _for me to finish treating your wounds before you start kicking the hell out of each other?!" I demanded angrily and continued cleaning Syrus' wound. "She's right, guys. Just be quiet for five minutes, please?" Ben pleaded. Both of the guys huffed and looked away from each other. However, they didn't say anything. Thankfully…

They were seriously starting to get on my nerves by now. Was one guy really worth all this stupid fighting?!

Once I finished with cleaning Syrus' wounds, I walked over to the first aid kit. I took an ointment out of it, and soon started applying it to Hassleberry's wounds, and then Syrus'. After five minutes, I put plasters on each of the wounds.

"Thanks." The two of them told me in unison before glaring at each other. "Now we can continue this properly and _without cheating_!" Hassleberry growled. "_Cheating_?! Not everyone is as big and strong as you!" Syrus shouted back.

I let out a groan and let my back hit a nearby sofa. I put a hand on my forehead. Here we go again…

"Why can't all three of you be friends?" Bastion asked a reasonablequestion. "I'M NOT SHARING MY RANK!" Syrus and Hassleberry shouted as a response. "_Dio_…" Ben trailed off in disbelief. Bastion and Alexis didn't seem to be happy about this either.

"I know just how you feel, boys, and I'm here to help!" A familiar voice made all of us look up. Atticus was lying on an upper, wooden, and narrower part of the room. "Atticus?" His sister questioned in surprise just as he landed in front of us.

I couldn't help frowning. How he wasn't afraid of heights, I still had no idea…

"When did you…" "I've been sleeping up there all day, sis!" Atticus cut Alexis off. "I also couldn't help but notice this power struggle…" He mused with a hand on his chin. "That's why I decided to drop in, to keep the band together! I mean, you can't let your fans down!" He smiled while motioning with his hands in a theatrical way.

That was one of things I noticed about him. He just loved being dramatic, or acting as if he were in a theatre… Completely opposite to Alexis, from what I've seen so far.

Right after he had said that, a cat landed next to him. My eyebrows furrowed in surprise. I could have sworn I've seen a cat a few times around the dorm, but this was the first time I saw it this near… I kneeled down to look at the animal better.

It was a brown, chubby cat with brown stripes over its body and brown tail. Right now, it was waving with its tail. A small smile appeared on my face. I loved animals, and cats were obviously a part of that bunch…

Suddenly, the cat started walking to me. My eyes widened in surprise once it suddenly jumped into my arms. It let out a 'meow' but kept waving with its tail. I stood up slowly with the cat still in my arms.

I didn't know why it jumped into my arms like that. I could only guess. Maybe it could sense I was fond of animals? Or I was just a random nearby person?

I started stroking the cat. It wasn't exactly light for carrying, but its fur was so soft… The cat started purring in my arms, making a bigger smile appear on my face. It was so casual with me carrying it, considering it jumped into my arms itself… The cat was definitely likable with its attitude.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?" Bastion's voice brought me back to reality. I looked away from the cat, and at the bunch. "Everything's a music reference with him, remember?" Alexis reminded. "How could we forget?" Ben let out a chuckle.

"You both want to be front men, but the problem is you're singing backup, like her!" Atticus suddenly pointed at his sister. "She dreams of stardom, but takes a backseat to her big bro!" At those words, Alexis let out a groan in annoyance.

Suddenly, she turned around to look at me. "Do you mind?" She asked, motioning to the cat in my arms with her head. "Uh… Sure?" I guessed, giving her the cat. "Thank you." She responded before walking up to Atticus.

Just when she was right in front of him, she suddenly grabbed the cat's tail and pulled it. The cat obviously didn't like that, since it let out a loud 'meow' of pain and scratched Atticus' face. The guy yelped in pain and quickly touched the part where he was scratched. "My face! My perfect face!" I could hear him saying in disbelief.

"It won't be so perfect anymore if you continue doing this!" Alexis threatened while still holding the cat. I couldn't help frowning.

Her being annoyed by her older brother was something that could be understandable... But why did she have to torture the poor cat to get back at him?! Cats definitely _didn't _like people pulling them by their tails!

"Watch that temper, Lex!" Syrus warned. I raised an eyebrow at him. Look who was talking… "Violence isn't the answer!" Hassleberry added. That was rich, coming from both of them!

"Oh, and since when do you two think you're capable of teaching me a 'moral' lesson?" She turned around to glare at both of them while putting down the cat. "How about you solve this stupid thing like men you're supposed to be instead of fighting like kindergarteners? Less wound treating for me, at least." I suggested with a frown while grabbing one Duel Disk.

I threw it to Syrus who caught it, while Alexis did the same to Hassleberry. "She's right. If you really want to settle this issue, then just shut up and duel! I'm sick of listening to you!" She declared. Ben and Bastion were staring at us while Syrus and Hassleberry looked at each other.

"They're right. Suit up, soldier and prepare for an assault!" Hassleberry told him determinedly. "You're on, Sarge! I'll take your tough talk and wrap it up in a box before mailing it right back to you!" Syrus retorted. Ben let out a groan and face palmed, while Bastion was still staring at two of them. "At least my analogies make sense…" Atticus let out a laugh with hands still over his face.

I shook my head in disbelief and walked up to where the cat was. I kneeled down and began stroking the animal. I still didn't forget it had its tail pulled a few minutes ago…

That was when both Syrus and Hassleberry ran out, leaving the rest of us in the room. The cat jumped into my arms yet again, making me laugh. "It seems Pharaoh has taken quite a liking to you." Ben pointed out with a small smile, just as he and Bastion walked up to me. "Its name is Pharaoh?" I asked in surprise while standing up and stroking the cat. My cousin nodded.

"Whose cat is he?" I wondered. Ben and Bastion looked at each other before looking at me. "He used to belong to Professor Banner." The latter finally said. "Banner?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I definitely hadn't heard that name here… "He used to be the head of Slifer Red dorm last year." Ben explained. "Used to be?" "He's dead." The British guy replied bluntly.

By now, I was gaping at both of them. 'He's dead'? Did I hear that correctly?! What was his cat doing here then?!

I opened my mouth to ask something out of those questions… Only to be cut off. "As much as I'd like to explain everything, that's a story for another time." Ben waved with his hand in a dismissive manner. "Our first year sure was eventful…" Bastion let out a sigh. "You can say that again." My cousin agreed.

I was staring at two guys. Apart from those Shadow guys, what exactly all happened last year?

"Alexis." A voice made all of us turn around. Chazz was standing at the entrance, his back against the wall and arms folded. "Yes?" The mentioned girl frowned. "Crowler and Bonaparte requested to see you right away." He replied nonchalantly. "Why?" She questioned. "They didn't say anything else." He looked away with a huff.

The girl let out a sigh. "Fine." She walked out of the room.

"I wonder what this is all about." Ben mused while looking at Bastion and me. "Me too." The British guy agreed. I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring about the Chancellor and the French man. Everything they were worried about these days was either about publicity, or tearing down dorms… So why bother? They had their problems, I had mine!

Chazz then walked out as well, with Atticus right behind him. I sat on a sofa while petting the cat… I couldn't remember its name. "Ben, please remind me what the cat's name is?" I looked at my cousin. "Pharaoh." He repeated. I simply nodded and continued petting the cat… _Pharaoh_. He started purring and waving with his tail. I smiled at the cat's actions.

"In case you guys are interested, those two are dueling right now!" Atticus suddenly shouted to us. Ben's and Bastion's eyes widened at hearing those words. "It hasn't even been five minutes…" The former pointed out in disbelief. "Yet they're at it again!" The latter exclaimed. Both of them ran out.

I rolled my eyes and continued stroking the cat's fur. Whatever their result was, I only hoped they would stop with stupid arguing…

"Pharaoh, you're my new favorite person here… Along with Ben, of course." I told the cat with a small smile. Pharaoh let out another 'meow' and continued purring.

* * *

Once I finally let go of the cat, I walked outside of the room. Ben, Atticus and Bastion were outside, watching Syrus and Hassleberry duel. I had no idea what the result was, but it looked like both of them were doing their best to win.

Suddenly, Alexis ran up to them. "This is bad…" She kept muttering with a frown. "What is it, Lex?" Ben gave her a perplexed look. "Crowler and Bonaparte want to tear down this dorm," She started, only to be cut off.

"WE'RE DOOMED!" Syrus shouted in panic. "Syrus, take a deep breath." Bastion advised, except that it didn't help. The short guy was looking at them in panic. "Crowler and Bonaparte?" Ben guessed. She nodded. "They've just told me I'm going to have to duel someone tomorrow. If I lose, they'll tear this place down."

All of them gave her worried looks. "So that means our dorm's fate pretty much rests on your shoulders?" My cousin presumed. "Yes." Alexis nodded with a sigh. "But I won't lose." She then said firmly, straightening up.

A frown appeared on my face before I walked to my room. I hoped she would win for their sake at least. Again, I didn't give a damn about this dorm being demolished… They'd just put us into a better one.

Once I was inside the room, I washed my hands. I then threw myself at bed and opened my herbarium. Looking through it, I noticed I still had a lot of blank pages… I didn't even get a chance to search this island properly for more plants.

Seeing I finally had some free time, I decided to explore the forest more tomorrow, early in the morning. Now I would go to the card shop, to see whether that Dorothy woman remembered who had lost that bracelet earlier. Even though that wasn't precise information, Ben was right. It was better to even count on something to help you, than sit around and do nothing.

* * *

Entering the card shop, I looked around. Some students were inside, around the cart filled with sandwiches. Some of them were looking at newest cards. I was trying to see where that woman was… And I found her.

She was standing next to a counter, talking to a female shop worker. Once the young lady walked away, I cleared my throat. "Excuse me?" I spoke up politely. The woman quickly turned around to look at me. "Ah, hello, dear! Your name is… Serena, if I remember correctly?" She smiled.

"How do you know my name?" I asked in confusion. I never mentioned it to the woman after all… "Your friend Jaden told me about you." She explained. "He… He did?" I blinked in surprise, completely ignoring the 'friend' part. I found it impolite to correct her about him not being my friend, while we were in the middle of the conversation.

At the same time, the mention of the guy made me remember how different everything was without him around… I hoped he would come back soon, because I really got used to him wanting to talk to me, and…. Wait, wait! Again, it sounded like I actually missed him, which wasn't the case! It was just… Different without him around. Si, that was it.

Dorothy nodded with the smile still on her face. "Said how you were a nice girl, and how you managed to draw Golden Eggwich." The woman then leaned a bit closer. "Also, don't worry about what happened with his blazer. Your secret's safe with me." She whispered before chuckling.

I could feel my face turning a bit red as I remembered the event from that day. Thankfully I didn't dare to step into their room again after what had happened… Why risk walking in on them?!

"Oh… Alright." I quickly said before straightening up. "Anyway… I was wondering if you could tell me something." I then said, trying to sound polite. "Go ahead, dear." Dorothy smiled.

After taking off the glove, I lifted up my left arm so she could see the bracelet on my wrist. "Does this look familiar to you?" I asked. A frown appeared on the woman's face, her eyebrows furrowing. "I think it does." She said simply. "Ben told me how someone had dropped it earlier, and that you were waiting for that person to come here." I told her.

"Yes, I remember now…" She trailed off while bringing glasses closer to her eyes so she could see the bracelet better. "It looks identical to the one I found last year." She stated after observing it. "Do you maybe remember who its owner was?" I asked hopefully.

Dorothy looked away with a frown on her face. It was quiet for a few moments, as if she was thinking about something… "No, I don't." She finally replied. I let out a sigh and started putting the glove back on. "Why are you asking, dear?" "Oh… Sorry, but the matter is personal." I quickly responded. "I understand." The woman smiled. "Thank you anyway." I smiled politely. "Anything for a friend of Jaden's." She grinned.

I still decided not to correct her about him not being my friend. It was rude after all, since she was older than me, and she ran this shop… I could only correct her mentally.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Ben asked me once I was in front of the Slifer Red dorm. "I went to ask Dorothy about that bracelet." I explained while straightening my left glove. "What did she say?" He wondered, now walking up to me.

I let out a sigh. "She said how she remembered seeing the identical one. However, she couldn't remember who its owner was." I explained with my arms folded. "That's strange…" Ben frowned. "What is strange?" I looked at him perplexed.

"Dorothy may not be the youngest, but she's not the type of a person to quickly forget her customer's names or looks." He stated. "So you think she _lied_?" I looked at my cousin in disbelief. He immediately shook his head. "She's not a person who would lie either." He added.

He was quiet for a moment. "I'm just trying to figure out what the deal is. The whole thing sounds fishy…" "Maybe she just forgot it because of so many customers." I suggested. "No, she wouldn't forget their names." He replied. "Then I really don't know…" I groaned.

"We'll deal with that later. At least we know you asked her. Right now, I've got to see where Alexis is." Ben told me. "Fine. See you." I waved. He went inside.

Letting out a sigh, I looked at the thing on my wrist. I trusted Ben's words; he knew people here after all… But the thing with Dorothy was really weird. Ben claimed she wouldn't forget customer's names, but he also said she wouldn't lie… Something had to be the case out of those two. The whole thing was weird already!

* * *

The next morning, I returned from the forest at 10 AM. I spent there at least three hours, just looking at and collecting interesting flowers. The island had a lot of them. The thing was you had to know where to look for them. They could grow either on trees, on the ground, or even be hidden somewhere!

Luckily, I managed to find some nice plants. Right now, I had one white and one purple Azalea, a red Camelia, a blue Hydrangea, and a red lotus flower. Getting the lotus was the hardest, but I was successful in picking it up. Nearly cost me falling in water of a pond in the forest… But it was worth it. In fact, the lotus was the most beautiful one out of all flowers I found. It was quite rare to see a red one…

By the time I was in front of the dorm, I couldn't see anyone. My guess was they were dealing with the 'dorm' crisis right now. Shrugging my shoulders, I walked to my room. Once I was inside, I quickly took off my boots and jumped on the bed.

Opening the herbarium, I grabbed the plants and started putting them one on each page…

* * *

By the time I finished looking through my herbarium, I could hear cheering outside. I closed the herbarium and opened the door curiously. I didn't come out though. Instead, I was peeking through the they were cheering because the dorm wouldn't get demolished, but I still wanted to see it for myself. And, there was quite a sight.

Ben, Syrus, Bastion, Hassleberry, Alexis and _Jaden _were walking towards the dorm with smiles on their faces. My eyes widened in surprise. When did _he_ come back?!

"THREE CHEERS FOR JADEN!" Syrus suddenly shouted. "THAT'S RIGHT! SARGE SAVED OUR DORMITORY FROM DEMOLITION!" Hassleberry shouted as well. "HIP HIP HOORAY!" The five of them cheered, making Jaden laugh. "HIP HIP HOORAY!" This time, they were right in front of the dorm. I could see all of them properly. "HIP HIP HOORAY!" They finished cheering.

"What's all this shouting about?!" Chazz walked out of his room angrily. I looked at him in a bit of amusement. Literally everything annoyed the jerk here… "Sorry, Chazz. We didn't mean to disturb you." Ben apologized sheepishly. "Well just stop!" He retorted.

Suddenly, Jaden ran up to him. "Chazz, am I glad to see you again!" He started hugging the guy happily. "Hey, hey, _hey_!" The black-haired guy pushed the guy away from the hug. "_Don't_ touch me, if you know what's good for you." He threatened. Jaden looked at him perplexed. However, Chazz ignored it, slamming the door behind him.

"What's his problem?" The brown-haired guy then asked his friends. "We wish we knew." Bastion sighed. "He's been like this for a while now." Alexis frowned. "Oh." Jaden said simply. "Puberty?" Syrus guessed. I covered my mouth not to burst in laughter.

Puberty? Really? Would puberty really make you say ridiculous things such as 'I've seen the Light'? Because he's said that at least ten thousand times by now….

"Whatever it is, he'll hopefully come round soon." Ben pointed out. "Soldier's right. Now let's go celebrate!" Hassleberry declared. All of them started walking upstairs. I had quietly closed the door right before they walked past my room.

After a few minutes, I walked out of the room. It looked like they were inside the renovated part of the dorm… I looked away from that door, my eyes landing on the sky instead. It was a warm day, even though it was nearly the end of November…

Suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder. My eyes widened as I quickly turned my head to see who it was. To my relief, it was only Jaden. However, I still couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed. Not even an hour passed since I saw him again, and he was already back to suddenly appearing and scaring me…

"It's just me." He smiled. "Yet you're already back to scaring me out of my wits." I pointed out with a frown. "Sorry about that, I forgot." He laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

It was quiet for a few moments. "Shouldn't you be with the others? They're happy to see you again?" I spoke up in confusion, looking up. "I am, I just wanted to thank you." The guy smiled. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Thank me? What for?" I questioned while folding my arms.

"If you hadn't been in the forest today, I wouldn't be here right now." He explained. "Wait, what?" I was staring at him. "Ever since I've come back to the island, it's been a real trouble finding my way back to the Academy. Since you were in the forest today, I saw you, and followed you back to the dorm. I arrived at the Academy just in time for the duel."

"Oh, I see." I replied while looking away, not knowing what else to say. "So, thanks." I looked at him at those words, his chocolate brown eyes meeting my light blue ones. "No… It… It… It wasn't a big deal, really…" I stuttered, feeling a bit nervous for some reason. None of us said a word after that. Instead, we were just looking at each other in silence. No matter how nice it was, I couldn't help feeling awkward. I wanted to look away, yet at the same time I was against that… It was so confusing!

"Look," I started without thinking. Jaden gave me a curious look. "I'm just glad that…"

"JAY!" Syrus' voice suddenly shouted from the room, cutting me off in process. "Coming, Sy!" Jaden shouted to him cheerfully. "I'd better go, they're waiting." He then told me. "Sure, go ahead!" I exclaimed impulsively.

The guy nodded at my words with a smile. "Thanks again." After saying that, he was on his way back to the room. I stood there for a moment, thinking about whether to do it or not…

"Jaden!" I finally called, just as he was about to open the door. He looked up at me curiously. "It's… It's good to see you again here." I finally said, trying not to smile to no avail. The result was a small smile on my face. "It's nice to see you again too." He grinned at me before waving. With those words, he walked inside, closing the door.

I stood there for a few moments, wondering why exactly I had just said those words. My goal was not to get close to people, yet I've just told the guy how it was good to see him again… That was completely counterproductive! Why did I have to be so damn impulsive at that moment?!

At the same time, no matter how much I wanted to deny it… A part of me was happy to see Jaden again. That was most probably why I said those words in the first place… I couldn't deny it. Having him around again made me a bit happier… Even if it was counterproductive! I just had to keep quiet about it, and not show it again…

Swearing I wouldn't say a word of this to Ben, I quickly ran inside to see whether there was a plant I had forgot in my herbarium. Thankfully, I had a whole free day right now, so I could do whatever I pleased.

**Well, finally done with this chapter! **

**Dio-God;**

**I hope you liked it and until next time!**


	18. Fight For The Dorm

**Ghost of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! :) And yes, that's pretty much it… XD**

**Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing! :) Glad you like the picture; I drew it myself! And thanks!**

**Kias: Thank you for words of support! :)**

**This chapter takes place during 'Dormitory Demolition'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

_Letting out a cough, I opened my eyes. I was greeted by mist all around me. Absolutely nothing could be seen…_

"_It's been a while since I've been here, hasn't it?" I wondered aloud unimpressed. Then I tried waving with my hand in order to make some of the mist go away… It __**didn't**__ work, unfortunately. "Great…" I trailed off, my voice dripping with sarcasm. _

_Suddenly, I could hear some footsteps. Letting out a gasp, I quickly started turning around in hopes of hearing where it was coming from. However, it seemed to be coming from everywhere! No one could figure out where someone was coming from in this way!_

"_Kill…." A deep male voice trailed off sadistically. My heart started beating faster in panic. "Who's there?!" I shouted while turning around frantically. "No mercy…" A female voice added, sounding as pleased about it as the male one. _

_The thing was, they really sounded familiar… But no one I knew would talk in such sadistic way… What was happening?!_

"_Who are you?! Show yourself!" I shouted. "What's the matter, Serena? I know you have a problem with your memories, but did you really forget what your own family sounds like?" Another male voice demanded sarcastically. My eyes widened in surprise at hearing those words._

_Family? My family never mentioned killing, nor did it sound so… __**Sadistic**__… There was something unnatural about those voices. It was as if they were someone else's, yet they obviously sounded familiar!_

"_From what I remember, my family never wanted to kill anyone." I spoke up with a frown, straightening up as a good measure. As much as this frightened me, I wanted to at least try to look brave… _

_That was when I heard one of male voices (the first one) chuckling, making shivers run down my spine. It sounded so sinister… "Then why don't we enlighten you, dear?" He spoke up. "What…" I started in confusion._

_Suddenly, someone caught me by my right wrist harshly. "Hey!" I shouted in protest and tried to break free from the person's grip to no avail. It was too tight… "You've made a mistake, cugina, and it's about time you paid for it… The Society doesn't take lightly to non-believers after all." My eyes widened, finally turning around to see who was holding the wrist._

_It was Ben… His green eyes were looking into mine coldly. "Ben, what are you doing?!" I exclaimed, once again trying to get my wrist out of his grip. It didn't work. "Don't worry, we're just teaching you a lesson…" He responded with a smug smile. "__**We**__?" I demanded in confusion._

"_Si." A female voice responded sadistically all of a sudden, grabbing me by my hair and pulling my head up, so my neck was exposed._

_By now, I was utterly terrified. If Ben was here, then I could guess who the female voice was… And I didn't like it at all! It was like my worst nightmare ever, and I wanted to wake up so badly… I was feeling like a helpless child which couldn't do anything to defend herself. _

"_Aunt Maria, please, let me go." I whimpered. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" She roared at me, making me scream in fear. However, Ben suddenly tied the gag around my mouth, muffling my screams. "Good job, Benjamin." I could hear her saying._

"_She's all yours." She then said. What she meant by that; I had no idea… Nor did I want to know._

"_With pleasure…" The male voice trailed off, laughing evilly. Aunt Maria lowered my head a bit, just in time to see an arm of someone coming closer to me. It was covered with clothing, but I could see a part of his hand. _

_Shivers ran down my spine once I observed it better. The hand was so pale, it was as white as a bone… And it was carrying a __**knife**__. I stopped breathing for a few moments, just staring at it. I knew what the man was about to do, and it made me feel even more frightened._

"_Forgive me it had to come to this." The male voice said, not sounding sorry at all. In fact, he sounded __**excited**__… He then waved with the knife, going straight towards my neck…_

Letting out a scream, I shot up in my bed. I was still screaming when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" I let out another scream, shaking my head frantically and pushing someone's hands away.

"Man, just calm down!" The person shouted. "So you can try to kill me with that knife?!" I screamed at whoever was in the room. "No one's trying to kill you, I don't even have a knife!" The voice retorted. Before I could start screaming again, someone's hands grabbed mine. "Look, I think you had a nightmare."

Breathing became easier once I heard those words. Opening my eyes, I looked up to see Jaden sighing in relief. He _wasn't _carrying a knife, which made me even more relieved. "Your screaming can really pierce through person's ears." He spoke up, letting go of my hands and standing up.

I eyed him in surprise. He wasn't the first person who said that… Axel had said the same thing last year!

"Sorry." I muttered. "It's nothing. The most important thing is you're fine." Jaden smiled, sitting down at the end of the bed. "Man, that must have been a really bad nightmare. I think the whole dormitory heard your screaming." He noted with a thoughtful look. I looked away with a frown.

I appreciated Jaden was able to calm me down, but I didn't want to talk about my nightmare… It was _terrifying_.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He told me reassuringly, making me look up. "Thanks." I replied with a small smile. "Anything for a friend." He smiled back.

I still didn't understand why in the world he considered me his friend, considering he wasn't mine… But I didn't correct him. The guy just calmed me down, and I appreciated having at least someone near me at this moment.

"So this is what your room looks like." Jaden then commented curiously, looking around. I simply nodded. "It's nice." He then told me cheerfully. I nodded yet again, not knowing what to say.

That was when I noticed he was already in his uniform, while I was still in my pyjamas. It surprised me, since Ben told me Jaden was a heavy sleeper… "What time is it?" I spoke up. "It's ten o'clock, I think." He replied. "Then how come you're awake?" I raised an eyebrow. "I mean, Ben told me you can sleep in when it's weekend…" I then elaborated.

"Your cousin accidentally woke me up by kicking me in face with his knee." Jaden frowned. "How come?" I asked perplexed. "His bed is right next to mine, that's why." He rubbed the back of his head. "Of course, it's not his fault, and he apologized… But I couldn't go back to sleep after that."

Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face. "Besides, why waste time when you're up already? Every day is a new one." He stated cheerfully. I blinked in surprise. How he could be so optimistic all the time was unknown to me… It was like nothing could make him depressed (apart from the 'card' incident from earlier).

There was something about those words that stayed with me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was this sense of… Warmness, or familiarity? It was like I had heard them somewhere before.

"Serena!" A familiar voice shouted, making Jaden and me look towards the opened door. Ben was standing outside, breathing heavily as if he had been running a lot.

A feeling of panic washed over me once he looked at me. I've always been close with my cousin, but, at this moment… I didn't want to be near Ben. It wasn't that I was avoiding him, but the nightmare was pretty scary… He was practically helping the person with killing me! At this point, I'd rather be with anyone who wasn't him!

"You were the one screaming?" Ben asked worriedly. I looked away from him with a frown. "She was." I could hear Jaden saying since I didn't answer. "Talk to me, cuzo." I could suddenly feel him grabbing one of my hands. However, that only triggered the memory of him grabbing my wrist harshly in that nightmare... It made my heart beat like crazy in fear. "Please, don't." I pleaded, quickly pulling my hand out of his.

"What's got into you?" He questioned in confusion. "I just want to be alone, that's all." I replied hastily, not looking in my cousin's direction. "But…" "Ben, let's just let her chill." Looking up in surprise, I could see Jaden dragging Ben outside and closing the door. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Jaden dragged him out…

I knew I would later get questioned for this, but right now, I didn't care. I needed time to process that nightmare, since it rubbed on me a bit… Why would I be afraid of Ben after all?

Standing up slowly, I grabbed my red skirt, blue shirt, and jacket. I put them on while looking at the light dusting of freckles over most of my body (such as arms and back). Once I finally put on the jacket, I eyed my bare arms with a frown.

Even though they were a bit covered with freckles, I could still see their pale color. I wasn't particularly fond of how pale my skin was, since I was at bigger risk of getting sunburnt, just like other redheads… I wished it could have had at least a bit of tan! Some redheads were among palest people in the world, and I was unfortunately in that category… Any skin paler than mine was either unnatural, or was coming from an unhealthy person. That was my opinion, and it never changed. My paleness was unusual already!

I froze in place, realizing why I was even thinking about my pale skin at this moment.

The hand holding the knife in that nightmare was paler than me… It was as white as a bone, and it looked pallid… Whoever it was, the person must have been extremely unhealthy. I couldn't say it was unnatural in their case, since what I had seen proved otherwise… I'd never seen anything so pale before… I didn't even think a person could be like that!

"Serena, I thought the point was to _forget_ about the nightmare, _not_ remind yourself." I then growled to myself, realizing my thinking was only making things worse. "_Stupido_." I added as a good measure. I then opened my drawer and took the bracelet out of it. After putting it on my left wrist, I finally put on fingerless gloves. I then strapped the Deck box to the right side of my waist.

I grabbed my hairbrush, hoping to tame my wild hair at least a bit. Of course, brushing it still didn't make much of a difference. I shook my head in disbelief while putting the hairbrush on the table. It was as if my hair had a mind of its own…

* * *

Once I was outside, I closed the door behind me. By now, my attempts to forget about the nightmare were utterly useless. It wasn't that I wanted to think about it… I was just wondering why I would dream of something like that. I leaned against the wall with my arms folded, right foot against the wall, and a frown.

Sartorius and Sarina used to say some dreams could foretell the future… They had had such dreams before, which ended up being real.

I could still remember the day I was helping Sarina with carrying some of groceries from a nearby shop. She tripped and fell, dropping everything in process. However, she then laughed, claiming she had dreamt of tripping over something the night before.

However, I wasn't sure whether that applied to only them (considering only they could see the future), or everyone in general… My dreams never exactly became a reality after all!

My thoughts went back to the last time I had contact with either one of them. It was a year ago… The last thing Sarina told me was not to call them anymore, while Sartorius hung up without a damn good reason. That wasn't the only time he was acting strange though… He was like that in the previous call as well!

Looking up with a frown, I tried to remember what exactly we were talking about back then. It seemed so long ago…

"_I want you to be extremely careful from now on." "Why?" "Because you'll be in great danger in the future." "Are you sure?" "You know my predictions are unfortunately never wrong." _All of those words were echoing in my head.

It was true. While I used to spend a lot of time with Sarina and Sartorius as a kid, I didn't get to hear a lot about their foretelling. In fact, they wouldn't allow me to listen to them. Sarina would even lead me upstairs while Sartorius had customers, just so I could avoid hearing what he had to say.

Now that I was older, my guess was they did so because they wanted me to know as less as possible about their gift. It was because of it that people shunned them when they were young… Based on what Sarina told me. Or maybe they just didn't want me to know so much at such young age… _The point _was, I didn't get to hear much because they didn't allow me.

They eventually stopped with that 'not hearing' ban, when I was about thirteen. I still didn't get to hear many of them though, seeing I spent most of my time locked at the house. My parents' overprotectiveness had no limits even back then… It wasn't until I was fourteen that I began to sneak out.

Despite hearing only few of those predictions, one thing was definitely clear. They were _never _wrong. Everything they said would happen, eventually happened.

Initially, I dismissed Sartorius' prediction about me being in some sort of danger. I knew he was always right when it came to that…. But I found it easier not to worry about something I couldn't foretell. Knowing I could possibly be in danger was stressful itself. That's why I decided to just throw it under the rug. Plus, I was still pissed about him and Sarina avoiding contact with me, so that just added it… A stupid decision, yes, but it was easier that way!

However, after that dream I had had… I had to question whether Sartorius was right. Again, I _knew_ his predictions were never wrong, but I found it easier to convince myself they weren't!

In the nightmare, someone was clearly about to kill me with that knife… Since Sarina and Sartorius claimed some dreams could indeed foretell the future… Was that connected to the latter's prediction? Maybe it served as a reminder, that it would indeed happen…

I looked down for a moment, thinking.

Sartorius never mentioned any killing! In fact, his prediction was quite unprecise. But, then again, so was the one about future not looking well for him… I never knew what _that _was about.

As much as there was a chance the nightmare and the prediction were connected, there was another, more probable possibility. Sartorius' warning may have got to my head, which led to that nightmare. People said you could dream about something that troubled you!

By now, my head was hurting because of all the possibilities playing out in my mind.

Seeing I could only guess what the deal was with that nightmare, I decided to leave it for now. I had a headache as well…

"Serena," Jaden's voice broke my train of thoughts. I quickly looked up, to my right to see him walking up to me. "Hey." I greeted back shortly.

I found it rude not to say anything, since he helped me during my 'screaming' episode. Not only that, he managed to get Ben off my back for at least a while. I had time to prepare myself for his questioning, without telling him about that nightmare. It wasn't something I was willing to share with others, not even him… Not yet, at least.

"Everything better now?" The brown-haired guy presumed. I nodded. "Thank you for pushing Ben out." I then spoke up. "Nah, it's fine. I know what it's like when people want to be by themselves." He responded casually. I simply nodded yet again.

"Where's Ben anyway?" I then asked curiously. "After I had told him to let you chill, he went with Alexis, Hassleberry and Bastion to the card shop." Jaden explained while rubbing the back of his head. "That reminds me…" He added with a curious look. "Have you seen Syrus since this morning?"

I shook my head. "It's not like him to just disappear…" The guy mused. "As long as he doesn't come back like Princeton, it's fine by me." I frowned. "You mean, dressed in all that white clothing?" Jaden started laughing.

While his white clothing _was _ridiculous, I think Jaden hadn't seen how aggressive Chazz could be these days. In fact, I was referring more to 'not becoming aggressive like Princeton' than 'being dressed in white'…

"Too much white in my opinion." I responded coldly, opting not to mention Chazz's crazy behavior. "_Way _too much." He agreed.

Suddenly, the door slammed open loudly next to us, making Jaden and me jump back with yelps. Chazz Princeton was standing at the entrance of his room. The look on his face was pure rage, with his black eyes shooting daggers at us.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK A SANE PERSON CAN DO SOMETHING EFFECTIVELY IF YOU'RE TALKING LOUDLY BY HIS DOOR AND MOCKING HIM?!" He roared, making me cover my ears. Jaden, on the other hand, covered his head and looked away.

"Chazz, chill out. We were just joking…" He then said, looking up once Chazz was done with shouting at us. "And now you're patronizing me…" The black-haired guy let out a growl. "I've already told your friend," His eyes briefly landed on me. "And I'll say it again. Don't you dare mock me…" He said in a threatening tone.  
Shivers ran down my spine as I remembered how he had grabbed me violently earlier. I _didn't _want that to happen again…

"Jaden, let's just leave him be." I spoke up quietly, making him glance at me. His brown eyes then immediately went back to the person in front of us. "You'd better listen to your friend, Yuki." Chazz glared. "If that's what you want, then fine." Jaden let out a sigh. "But, honestly, Chazz, you should just chill out…" He then added.

Seeing Chazz's face contorted into even more rage made me even more alarmed. I didn't want to be a witness of another 'Chazz Princeton goes insane' episode…

That's why I quickly grabbed Jaden's hand and started pulling him away from Chazz. "Have a nice day, Princeton!" I shouted back.

By the time we were at the bottom of the stairs, I let go of Jaden's hand. "Sorry, I wanted to get away from him as fast as possible." I folded my arms with a frown. "It's alright, I get it." He waved it off. "He _was _rather unpleasant for some reason… Don't know what's got into him. Whatever it is, I hope he'll come back to his senses soon." He then shrugged, sitting on stairs.

I stayed quiet, not wanting to really comment on Princeton's behavior. Instead, I sat on stairs as well, next to him with my hand against the railing.

Before anyone could say something else, I could see Ben, Alexis, Bastion and Hassleberry walking up to where we were. Ben looked really pissed, and was carrying newspapers in his hands. My guess was today's news made him so upset…. Whatever they were.

Ben was the one who wanted to be informed about everything happening in the world. I didn't mind it from time to time, but I preferred staying uninformed. That way I wouldn't have to worry about things that were out of my reach.

While the impression of that nightmare still stayed with me, looking at my cousin was easier by now. I accepted nightmare was just it, and that I shouldn't freak out on him because of my own problems…

"This is ridiculous!" My cousin shouted, just as four of them were in front of us. "What is it this time?" Jaden asked, as if he were already used to his antics. "They still haven't found the culprit from the break-in." Bastion explained, looking at the newspapers along with Ben.

"What break-in?" Jaden suddenly asked in confusion, making the rest of them sweat drop. I stayed quiet. Yeah, he was busy running away from the Academy to hear the front-page news that day… "Someone broke into Industrial Illusions a while ago. They stole some cards, which angered Pegasus." I briefly explained with a frown.

His chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" "Si." Ben nodded. He then took one piece of newspaper, about to drop the rest… but Hassleberry caught them. He, Bastion and Alexis started reading the rest of papers.

"Check this out," He pointed at the piece of paper furiously. "Instead of trying to give some actual information, they're writing about conspiracy theories!"

Judging by his tone, we were about to hear what those theories were… While I wasn't exactly interested in hanging around those guys, I wanted to hear what crazy journalists wrote in those newspapers.

"One of theories suggests there's a secret rival company, which stole the cards to make more money than Pegasus." Ben read. "Secret rival company?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "I honestly think that's far-fetched. If a company is making _Duel Monsters_, then they need to make it clear to the world." Alexis looked away from the newspapers with a frown. "She has a point." Bastion nodded, still reading.

"Another theory suggests Pegasus himself made up this scandal to draw more attention to Industrial Illusions." Ben then said in disbelief. "How stupid can people be?" Hassleberry looked at my cousin incredulously. "A lot, _il mio amico_." Ben looked up at him. "Mind translating that?" The guy raised an eyebrow. "My friend." Bastion said before anyone else could do so.

Hassleberry simply nodded to him before looking at my cousin yet again. "Getting used to your habits is going to take some time, soldier." He pointed out. "If Alexis, Syrus, Bastion, Chazz and Jaden could, then you'll get used to it as well." Ben smiled back.

"Anyway," He then said. "Those theories are ridiculous!" "Of course, they are, but people will buy it anyway, Ben. The only thing those journalists care about is money." Jaden said casually, making us look at him. "Who are you, and what have you done with Jaden Yuki?" Bastion asked incredulously.

The brown-haired guy looked up with an amused expression. "The only reason I know this much is because of experience. I don't care about journalists, or newspapers." He said simply with arms behind his head.

"Experience?" Alexis asked curiously. The brown-haired guy sighed, with his arm on the railing. "My parents were involved in some sort of a scandal as journalists called it. They falsely accused Mum of doing something she never did." He explained.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. That sounded like something journalists would do nowadays… It was insane to which length those guys could go to make people's lives miserable… Just because they wanted money and a juicy story!

"That's horrible." Alexis frowned. "Crazy journalists." Ben and Hassleberry chorused. "That's unfortunately become a trend nowadays…" Bastion pointed out matter-of-factly. "Well, nothing we can do, so why bother?" Jaden shrugged his shoulders.

I stayed quiet, not really having anything to say. I was here to listen to the news, not someone's experience about scandals… What happened to his parents was still terrible nonetheless. I couldn't deny that.

He then looked up at my cousin. "What else do theorists say?" "They set up few other theories of who could have been the culprit." Ben frowned. "Like?" Hassleberry asked. "They brought up some famous duelists' names." "Good thing Kaiba wasn't included or else they wouldn't live to see another day." Jaden noted.

"Definitely," Ben nodded. "But there are some other names, including a recent winner of a 'Crystal Beasts' tournament, Aster Phoenix, then they mentioned Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, even the King of Games himself…" "_That's it_," Bastion started in annoyance. "Ben, please give me those newspapers." Ben frowned at the British guy but gave them to him.

The moment he had all of them in his hands, the Ra Yellow student _ripped _the papers apart. They started falling to the ground. By now, all of us were gaping at him. Papers were still flying around. This was so sudden…

"Bastion," My cousin started angrily. "You owe me money for those newspapers!" He finished, shouting by now. "Sorry, but I can't listen to that _nonsense_ anymore! The way they were going, every possible duelist that's not Seto Kaiba could have been on their list of suspects." He frowned with folded arms.

"He's right, you know. The whole 'conspiracy theory' thing is just ridiculous. They're randomly accusing people without actual proof." Alexis spoke up. "Besides, Ben, you've bought the most notorious newspapers in Japan. Preventing those imbeciles from poisoning your mind is the best thing possible." Bastion added with a frown, picking up a paper and pointing at the newspapers' name.

I eyed it curiously. "Most notorious?" Ben asked in astonishment. "Yup. Dad talks only the worst about them." Jaden started laughing. "Those guys are known for trying to talk bad things about everyone. Gossip and false accusations are like their middle name." Alexis frowned at the paper in Bastion's hands.

"Next time, I'll buy the right newspapers for you, Ben." Bastion offered to my cousin with a smirk. "You're on." Ben finally said, shaking hand with his friend to secure the deal.

I rolled my eyes before covering my mouth not to laugh. Ben's desire to be informed about everything just had to lead him to reading the worst newspapers ever… Hearing others talking bad things about them made the whole thing funnier.

"WE'RE DOOMED! THEY'RE REALLY GOING THROUGH WITH THIS!" Someone's screaming could suddenly be heard. All of us looked up in surprise to see Syrus running up to us. A look of panic was written all over his face. Once he stopped in front of us, he started breathing heavily with hands on his knees.

Whatever this was about, it must have been serious…. I think I had a hunch what he was referring to.

"What's the deal, Private?" Hassleberry raised an eyebrow. He didn't get a reply, seeing Syrus was still taking a break from all the running. "Is this about Slifer Red dorm again?" I spoke up with a frown, making everyone look at me with expressions of either confusion, or realization.

Ben looked at me wide-eyed. "Please tell me that's a joke!" He then turned back to Syrus. "Would I come running here and screaming at the top of my lungs if it was?!" The short guy shouted at him in disbelief, making my cousin cover his head in shock.

"Sy, just chill out and tell us what's the problem." Jaden told him. "Isn't it obvious, Jaden?" Alexis folded her arms calmly. "Crowler and Bonaparte are going to tear down this dorm." Syrus quickly said. "WHAT?!" Jaden shouted, gaping at his short friend. Hassleberry and Ben didn't seem to take that news any better. Both of them were gaping at Syrus as well. Alexis let out a sigh, even muttering 'I knew it' while Bastion face palmed. I, on the other hand, stayed quiet. I've already known that was the case, so there was no need to act surprised.

"Are you certain?" The British guy finally asked. "Who's your source, Private?!" Hassleberry demanded. "One at a time!" Alexis stopped both of them from asking any more questions. "I heard those two arguing in the conference room… They said the Red dorm has to go!" Syrus explained.

Ben let out a groan with hands over his face. "_Fantastico_…" He mumbled. "They've been threatening to do that since October, Syrus." Bastion reminded skeptically. "What was the point of Jaden winning that duel if they're going to demolish this place anyway?!" Ben was near to losing it. "Soldier, they're just talking!" Hassleberry frowned at my cousin.

"This is the thousandth time they're talking about it, which means they haven't given up on that idea yet!" Ben frowned back. "He has a point." Alexis nodded at his words. "At this point, I wish this were fake news from Ben's newspapers." Bastion sighed, finally seeing where those two were coming from. That earned him a glare from Ben. "Me too." Jaden was running hands through his hair.

Glancing at all of them freaking out, I rolled my eyes. I still didn't understand why they were bothering so much about this dorm's state… I hoped this was some sort of a joke though. Not because of the dorm's state, but because then everyone would stop freaking out…

"Must we duel in front of the students?!" Crowler's voice made me look up. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion once I saw the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor walking down the path towards us. Both of them were wearing their Duel Vests, and seemed to be in some sort of an argument. One could see they were in major disagreement, since Crowler's voice could be heard from here, and since they were scowling at each other.

"_Pourquoi_?! Having second thoughts?" Bonaparte demanded. "Hardly! I just think that at least in public, we should appear to be in agreement!" Crowler folded his arms. "_We are_!" Bonaparte looked up at him. "We agree to duel! You and I are a unified front!" "Fine, prepare to eat dirt, _shorty_." The taller man declared, looking up and away from Bonaparte with a frown. "You too, _Amazon_!" The French man retorted with this proud look on his face.

I couldn't help smirking once I heard them and their insults. Those two arguing was so amusing, and _satisfying_… They'd had their differences, but this time, judging by their words, they were going to go full-out at each other with that duel.

Even though any other fight that wasn't dueling was better to me, it was technically violence… But so was when monsters attacked you directly! There was absolutely no logic with their way of thinking. A card game, huh? Tell that to Bonaparte's crazy soldiers which had attacked me directly!

Despite all that, them dueling was still sort of satisfying. I had never seen them arguing… Boy, I was really looking forward to seeing who was going to win! Finally, something interesting was happening at this crazy island!

I could feel even more excitement as they were coming closer.

"Wait, they're going to duel?!" Syrus asked in surprise. "That must mean Crowler's defending us." Alexis pointed out. "That's a first." Ben noted with a frown. "Unexpected development…" Hassleberry trailed off in disbelief. "Except that Crowler has a huge advantage." Bastion spoke up. All of them looked at him.

I looked up as well. "He's already seen Bonaparte's deck in action, thanks to the duel he had with Serena." He reminded. My eyes widened slightly as I remembered our duel "You're right…" Ben trailed off in realization.

"You had dueled _Bonaparte_?" Jaden looked at me in surprise. I simply nodded. "It was while you were in your room." I said simply, folding my arms. "Then this is going to be a sweet duel." He grinned while standing up. The rest of them sighed while I rolled my eyes. I was looking forward to that duel as well, but for different reasons… Jaden wanted to see it because he liked duels, while I just wanted to see those two kicking the hell out of each other.

I stood up as well, just as the others started walking towards two men. "Your dormitory is being torn down today, _les enfants_." Bonaparte smiled smugly at us. "We'll see about that." Ben replied coldly. "Don't believe me?" The French man frowned.

"Miss Accardi, mind coming over here?" A voice made me quickly turn around. It was Crowler, and he was motioning for me to come to the side discreetly. I frowned in confusion. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see others still talking to Bonaparte, so I followed Crowler to the side. "Yes?" I asked. "From what I remember during your duel, Mr. Bonaparte used mostly direct attacks." He stated with his arms folded. I simply nodded, remembering his annoying attacks with the crazy soldiers. "Do you happen to remember the name of the last spell card he had used?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "The one with taking away 100 of my Life Points, and gaining them?" I presumed. That earned me a nod. "I think it was some sort of a treaty, but I'm not sure…" I trailed off. "I tend to forget some names in general." I then admitted in a bit of embarrassment. "Not important," He quickly waved it off. "The point is, it gave you most of the trouble?"

"That, and all those silly marches of his. He just uses them to corner you and then pull off stuff like that 'treaty' thing. He'll also try to take away Life Points with some bonus card such as his cannon." I spoke up quietly. "There's also another suspicious card which I had managed to destroy. It resembled chains…" I trailed off, trying to remember what they looked like. Unfortunately, I had no luck.

After looking at me for a few seconds, the man nodded. "Thank you." He said shortly and was about to head back… When he turned around. "Not a word of this to anyone. I just want to shut him up, and that's it. Do I make myself clear?" He asked warningly. "My lips are sealed." I smirked, motioning so with my right hand. With a final nod, Crowler made his way back to others.

Honestly, I didn't care that much Crowler just asked me to remind him of Bonaparte's deck… If that meant their fight would be even better, then I was all up for spilling the beans!

Once I joined the rest, it appeared Bonaparte didn't even notice Crowler and me talking. Thankfully, since he'd probably accuse us… _Crowler_, actually, of cheating.

He and Bonaparte then went to opposite sides in front of the dorm. I walked up to the others at the side of the made-up field. "Remember, _Monsieur _Crowler. When I win, it's _au revoir _to the Slifer Reds!" The French man reminded him.

"So, explain this to me again? Which one of these guys should I root for?" Jaden suddenly spoke up. "_Crowler_!" Ben, Syrus and Hassleberry chorused. "If Bonaparte wins this," "You won't have a place to live." Alexis and Bastion then added respectively.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. They were so dramatic… If they _did_ tear down this place, then they'd just put us into a new dorm!

"Right. Crowler good, Bonaparte bad." Jaden muttered to himself before looking up. "Come on, Chancellor! Time to kick some Vice-Chancellor's butt!" He then shouted in Crowler's direction with hands over his mouth.

That was pretty much it, except I'd say 'time to kick _each other_'s butts'…

"Who are they?" Syrus suddenly pointed somewhere. I looked up curiously to see some workers stretching out by the entrance of the dorm. There was even an excavator nearby… _"Che diavolo è quello?" _Ben questioned in astonishment. I couldn't help smiling in amusement.

Damn, Bonaparte took tearing down this place _way _too seriously… It was as if he predicted he would win, so those guys could tear it down immediately after his win… But it made the upcoming fight even more enjoyable!

"Can't wait for them to start with the whole fight." I muttered with this silly grin on my face. Unfortunately, I was louder than intended, so pretty much everyone turned around to look at me in… Astonishment?

"You're looking forward to the chance of this place being torn down?" Hassleberry questioned with a frown. "As long as they have a good fight, I don't give a damn." I responded excitedly while playing with my hands. "You want them to tear down this dorm?!" Ben and Syrus asked in disbelief. "What's the big deal? They'll just put us into a new one!" I raised an eyebrow.

All of them were staring at me for a few moments… Until they fell to the ground. "No, they'll _expel you_!" Bastion stood up and told with a frown. The moment he said that, smile fell off my face.

"_What_?" I was staring at Bastion wide-eyed. In fact, this sudden feeling of panic washed over me, and I was praying Bastion was only joking… "If they tear down this dorm, we technically have to go back to our respective ones, but they'll kick you out of the Academy since you're a Slifer Red." Ben explained. "Both you _and _Jaden." The British guy nodded, looking between him and me back and forth.

I looked at all of them as that information sunk in. Then, I started thinking about what would probably happen if Crowler lost. First, they'd tear down the dorm, then they'd expel me…. My parents would probably be furious with me, even though this was decent reasoning… I'd be thrown out because of someone else, not because I had caused something! That wouldn't matter though, since my parents would most probably send me to another school, and the nightmare would begin _again_.

I _didn't_ want that. I _didn't_ want to be expelled from here, and I didn't want to transfer to another school! They said third time was a charm, but it would be totally opposite in my case. Who else switched between three schools during their three-year education?! I would be considered as a delinquent, or something!

Not that being considered a delinquent really mattered to me, I just didn't want to change school again. Ben was here, and I got used to frequent conversations Jaden would start up with me… Even though brief, talking to him suddenly felt so easy and natural. Besides… Sartorius had been on this island. How was I supposed to know what he had been doing here if they expelled me?!

"That's bad." I finally spoke up with an uncertain look, earning sweat drops from others. "You think?!" Hassleberry asked sarcastically. However, I paid no attention to his remark. Instead, I looked at where Crowler was.

"Chancellor, you'd better win this thing!" I shouted over to him. "Because, I do _not _want to be expelled." I then added quietly. "I thought you wanted to get off this island. At least Ben said so." Syrus glanced at me. I realized all eyes were on me yet again.

Not knowing what else to do, I cleared my throat. "_Not_ at cost of being sent to another dueling school by my parents. Let's leave it at that." I spoke up coldly.

"This is your last chance to save face, Crowler. Not than anything can save yours…" Bonaparte commented. "But surrender now and I won't embarrass you!" He then declared. "The embarrassment will be mine!" Crowler retorted.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What in the world…

"Uh," Crowler suddenly realized what he had just said. "What I mean is, if anyone's going to be embarrassed, it's me!" By now, I face palmed while others were glancing between two men back and forth. "Uh, embarrassed that I ever hired you, yes that's it!" I put hands on my face with a quiet groan.

If those were supposed to be insults, then it wasn't going well…

"He's got a way with words." Jaden pointed out to us sheepishly. "Not really." Syrus gave him back a sheepish smile while I shook my head. "They'd better just get straight to the duel." I added quietly.

"I HEARD THAT!" Crowler's shouting caught me by surprise. I quickly looked up to see him glaring at us before looking back at Bonaparte. "_Look_, I don't care about these _brats_, or their dorm!" He then declared, making everyone fall to the ground in disbelief. I, on the other hand, frowned at their forms, and legs in the air.

Honestly, him not giving a damn about us was kind of obvious. He and Bonaparte had a score to settle. Besides, he'd already told me how he wanted to just shut him up.

"This duel is for shutting you up once and for all!" "Bring it on, _mon ami_! LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!" Bonaparte roared, taking his deck and shuffling it one more time. "Such a dramatic little man... But save screaming for the end!" Crowler shot back, shuffling his own deck as well. After putting decks back inside, they then activated their Duel Vests.

He did have a point there, this 'revolution' thing was quite dramatic…

**Crowler: 4000 LP**

**Bonaparte: 4000 LP**

Both of them drew their cards while exchanging a few more insults.

"At least we know what to expect from him due to his previous duel." Ben pointed out. "There are still some cards we know nothing about, Ben." Bastion reminded matter-of-factly. "At least you've already seen his deck." Jaden looked at two guys. "Oh yeah, you didn't get to see Serena kicking his butt." Ben rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

The moment he said that, Jaden's head turned to me. "You won that duel?" He asked. "Cost me some suffering," I rolled my eyes. "But I did." A smirk appeared on my face. "Sweet." He grinned.

"WELL, FINE!" Bonaparte could be heard shouting. Looking up, I could see him drawing his sixth card.

Normally, I'd be against watching the duels… But this one decided whether I would stay here or be expelled. I had to see who would come out victorious!

"I'll start with my Toy Soldier in Defense Mode." The French man summoned the familiar-looking soldier from my previous duel with him **(ATK/DEF:800/300)**. "He started off the same like in his duel with Serena." Bastion noted. "He has at least three of those, remember?" Ben reminded him. "Besides, this time, he's in Defense Mode instead." "Cute little guy, don't you think?" Jaden asked from my right.

The moment he said those words, I turned around to look at him. "That cute little guy is not so cute," I frowned. "In fact, the worst thing is when he fires at you directly from his riffle!" I finished, remembering my traumatic experience with Bonaparte's crazy soldiers. Fine, fine, it wasn't _that_ traumatic… But it was unpleasant nonetheless! Those little morons had no better business than to fire at poor people!

Jaden blinked at me in surprise. "Wow." He said simply. "That's some trauma you have there, cuzo." Ben told me in a bit of amusement. I glared at him in annoyance but decided not to say anything. I wanted to watch the duel, not argue!

"I don't get it why he summoned it in Defense Mode. He's the type to try to attack first." Syrus pointed out in confusion. "Probably because Crowler's already seen his deck in action. He wants to be ready for the worst." Hassleberry shrugged. That made sense…

"Good to see most of you remember my Toy Soldier, especially _Mademoiselle _Accardi." Bonaparte looked at us smugly for a few moments. "I then place two cards down and end my turn." He placed two facedowns.

Crowler drew his sixth card. "I play 'Graceful Charity'!" He showed the card in his right hand. "I get to draw three cards and then send two to my Graveyard!" He did so before looking at his new cards. "Then I'll play 'Pot of Greed', which means I get to draw two more cards!" The man drew two of them.

"You're delaying your demise on purpose." Bonaparte frowned with his arms folded. "We'll see about that, shorty." Crowler huffed, taking one card out of his left hand. "Next, I play 'Heavy Storm'!" A card showing some sort of a storm was in his hand.

Bonaparte's eyes widened. "_Sacre bleu_." He commented in surprise. "Good thing he drew that card." Alexis commented. I looked at the rest of them in confusion. I had never seen Crowler's deck in action before, so I was a bit clueless about this card's effect. It must have been something good though, judging by their reactions.

"With this card, all Spell and Trap cards are destroyed at the field, which means all two of your facedowns go!" Crowler declared, pointing at two cards. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind appeared, going over to Bonaparte's side of field.

Once the cards lifted themselves up, I could briefly see what they were. One of them were those chains, and the second one was his 'treaty' card! They were immediately destroyed.

I couldn't help smirking. Now that 'treaty' card was gone, he couldn't cause damage to Crowler like had done so to me! Granted, he still had other tricks up his sleeves, but that card was one of the worst things possible!

"'Unequal Treaty' is gone." Syrus sighed in relief. "What did that card do?" Jaden asked him curiously. "It takes away opponent's 100 Life Points, and gives them to the owner." Hassleberry briefly explained. "It gave her trouble back when she had only 250 Life Points." He then added, glancing at me. "Hadn't Crowler destroyed it, Bonaparte would have probably used it after attacking him." I then told the brown-haired guy, seeing his eyes were looking into mine.

"Good thing Crowler had Serena duel Bonaparte, since their duel helped him a lot. He knew what to expect from Vice-Chancellor. With those cards gone, things might be easier." Bastion noted. "We can already celebrate that 'Unequal Treaty' is out of the picture." Ben said with a small smile. "He has other cards we don't know about." Alexis reminded him skeptically.

Bonaparte didn't seem to be pleased about this at all. Crowler, on the other hand, smirked, taking another card out of his left hand. "Then I activate Spell Card 'Premature Burial'!" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, since I didn't know its effect.

"All I need to do is relinquish 800 points! Then, you know what happens next. A monster returns from my graveyard, like the Trojan Horse!" A horse appeared in Attack Mode **(ATK/DEF:1600/1200)**. Crowler's points, meanwhile, dropped to 3200.

**Crowler: 3200 LP**

**Bonaparte: 4000 LP**

Every time you lose Life Points, my demolition crew will take away a piece of that dorm!" Bonaparte then spoke up smugly. My eyes widened in astonishment. "That's nasty, the duel hasn't ended yet." I growled. "That's not fair!" Ben shouted over to the French man. "You stay out of this!" He glared at all of us.

That was when the excavator tore down one, upper piece of the dorm, causing smoke to appear.

"Guess that's what the thing is for…" I could hear Hassleberry muttering. I glanced between Bonaparte and Crowler.

At this rate, Crowler had bigger chances of winning than the French man… He destroyed all of his Trap Cards, and there was only one soldier at the field! However, if Crowler lost more points, then this dorm would be done for…

"You're getting ahead of yourself, it's still my turn." Crowler retorted. He then said how the EARTH type monster's summoning counted one sacrifice as two. "S_acre bleu_." Bonaparte exclaimed yet again. "Save your French exclamations… FOR THIS!" The taller man retorted, lifting up his left hand. "MY ANCIENT GEAR GOLEM!"

Wind started blowing. A huge, metal-like golem appeared on the field **(ATK/DEF:3000/3000)**. I looked at it from head to toe in astonishment. The monster was huge… It had heck of points too.

"Now, attack his Toy Soldier!" The man ordered. "Why would you do that?! My monster's in Defense Mode!" The French man demanded. "Because when Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in Defense Mode with lower points than my monster's Attack Points, the difference comes out in your Life Points!"

The golem attacked the soldier, destroying it. Wind appeared, causing Bonaparte to lose 2200 Life points.

**Crowler: 3200 LP**

**Bonaparte: 1800 LP**

"I'll end my turn with a facedown."

Seeing Bonaparte's points were down to 1800, that meant Crowler's chances of victory were even bigger… They weren't going to expel me!

The French man drew another card. "By activating 'Pot of Greed', I get to draw two cards." He did so. "Then I'll summon Toy Soldier in Attack Mode." The familiar monster appeared in Attack Mode **(ATK/DEF:800/300)**. "Now, I activate 'Team Effort'! By paying half of my points, I can summon another monster without sacrifices, which is Toy Dictator in Attack Mode!" A toy monster with an even bigger rifle appeared. It was wearing a more formal suit, still colored red, but much darker. **(ATK/DEF:2100/1900)**.

"What's he up to? He can't attack directly with only two monsters!" Ben pointed out. "I have my ways, _voisin_." Bonaparte looked at my cousin smugly. "You see, _Monsieur_," He then told Crowler. "When the soldier and dictator are together on the field, Dictator's Special Effect activates! I can take another Toy Soldier and summon him." He did so, with the second Toy Soldier appearing.

I let out a groan. I should have known he would find a way to attack directly, even with his first Toy Soldier being destroyed…. I knew he would attack Crowler directly now, I just knew it. Why else would he prepare all three of those guys for that?!

"How many of these soldiers does he have?" Jaden asked in surprise. "I wish I knew." I sighed with hands on my head.

"_Finalement_, I can play 'Higher Order'!" Bonaparte lifted up another card. I raised an eyebrow, seeing this was the first time I had heard of this. "Thanks to this card, the Dictator gains 400 points from each soldier each, and can attack directly!" The monster's points grew to 2900.

My eyes widened in astonishment. And here I had been complaining about those Toy Soldiers hitting me… Crowler was about to get an even worse treatment! No, wait. This one had 2900 points, while attacks on me cost me 3000… Mine was slightly worse.

Crowler yelped in surprise as the monster marched up to him, holding the rifle high.

"I wouldn't want to be Crowler…" Jaden trailed off.

The Dictator then fired _straight_ into his groin. "MERCY!" Crowler yelped in pain. DAMN… I swear, those monsters had something against every possible opponent. First they fired at me near chest, and now Crowler in his… _Family jewels_… What was the deal with making us suffer?!

I tugged at my hair with my eyes wide. The thing was, I knew how Crowler was feeling right now… Well, _not exactly_, but I knew how much those corks hurt in general when fired! The one that hit my torso was the worst one…

By the time I looked at the others, their reactions were no better. Jaden and Bastion were staring at the sight wide-eyed (with the former gaping), while Syrus and Hassleberry had uncomfortable looks on their faces. Alexis, on the other hand, looked away while Ben covered his eyes with both of his hands. "That looked painful, I feel for him…" Hassleberry trailed off. "That's a first." Ben commented, still covering his eyes. "The damage is _huge_." Syrus winced. The rest of the guys winced at those words. Alexis and I, being the only girls here, briefly exchanged glances with sighs.

By now, Crowler fell to the ground with only 300 Life Points left.

**Crowler: 300 LP**

**Bonaparte: 1800 LP**

"_Messieurs_, you know what to do!" Bonaparte shouted over to the workers. They started tearing down another part of the dorm. They were practically near my room… That was when it hit me.

My… My things were still there! My herbarium, my album… I had to get them out before they tore down my room! I didn't care about the rest of things, I had to get those two!

Without thinking, I started running upstairs, just as the excavator started tearing down another part of the dorm. I could hear someone shouting my name, but at this moment, that was the last thing on my mind.

Once I opened the door, I quickly ran inside my room. I raced to my drawer, and opened it. Luckily, the album was still there. However, I wasn't sure where I had put my herbarium. Damn it!

"Serena, are you insane?!" I could hear Ben shouting as I heard hurried footsteps. I quickly turned around to see Ben and Jaden running inside. "No, I'm not. I just want to save my things from definite doom." I retorted and started looking all over my room. "We have no time for this, it's not safe." My cousin replied seriously.

"I'm not leaving until I find my herbarium, and that's it! You two can either stick around or leave!" I retorted with a growl. "Now that they're tearing down this place with that thing?! Serena, you've officially…" "Ben," Jaden interrupted him before he could get angrier. "They stopped with tearing down the wall the moment she ran inside. They told Bonaparte they can't do that while someone is inside, so he and Crowler continued the duel." He reminded.

"They did, but… What she just did is stupid and unreasonable!" Ben looked at me disapprovingly. "Insult me all you want after I find my herbarium." I scowled. "Fine, we'll help you find it." He sighed. "Where have you last seen whatever you're looking for?" Jaden asked. "Somewhere in this room." I responded. "How precise…" Ben trailed off sarcastically.

I ignored him, and quickly started looking through my wardrobe. He was looking over my table and at the chair. "How can you lose such a big object so easily?!" I could hear him asking in annoyance. That was when I finished looking through my wardrobe. I closed it harshly with a loud groan. "Damn it, just damn it!" I kicked it once in annoyance.

"I guess that means you haven't found anything either." Ben presumed with a frown once he looked at me. I nodded with a sigh.

"That's a lot of plants in there…" I could hear Jaden trailing off in what sounded like astonishment. Both of us turned around. The brown-haired guy was holding an open herbarium in his hands, staring at it with his eyes wide. "Yeah," Ben rolled his eyes. "That's what Serena's known for. Wherever you go with her, she just starts looking for plants!" He said in exasperation.

I glared at him at those words. "Oh…" Jaden trailed off, his chocolate brown eyes not leaving the thing in his hands. My guess was he was officially weirded out by my habits. Not that I could blame him, since he liked dueling the most. And, dueling was completely opposite from what I liked…

"Earth to Jaden." Ben called jokingly with hands over his mouth. At hearing those words, Jaden looked up. He then quickly slammed the herbarium shut. "Here you go." He handed it to me. "Thank you." I said simply. "Serena's hobbies have certainly left an impression on you." Ben chuckled. He had a point, considering how long the guy had been staring at this thing…

"Where did you find it anyway?" I then asked curiously. "Oh," He looked up. "It was lying open under your bed." He explained sheepishly. Those words made Ben shoot me another look of disapproval. "Can we go back now?" He demanded. "We'd better, or we won't see the rest of the duel." Jaden reminded. I grabbed both the album and the herbarium.

We then ran out with me closing the door. However, we were suddenly met with Chazz right across us. Right now, he was glaring at all three of us. He was covered with white paint all over his hair and uniform… I had an idea why. Tearing down the dorm caused some things to collapse, including a paint bucket… That explained why his hair was nearly white.

I had to admit, I found it a bit amusing… That's why I tried to cover my smile the best way I could.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" He roared at all three of us, making me look away. Both Ben and Jaden covered their heads with their heads. "They're tearing down our dorm, Chazz." My cousin told him. "THEN TELL THEM TO STOP, I WANT TO PAINT IN PEACE!" He shouted.

That was when he took a bucket in his hands. The next thing I knew was that he splashed its content at all of us. We yelped in surprise, and I quickly covered my eyes the moment he splashed us. I could feel being splashed by something yet again.

Finally, I opened my eyes. Right now, Jaden and Ben were looking back at me…. Except that they were completely covered in white paint… _From head to toe_. I quickly looked down at my hands… I was completely covered in it too! My herbarium and album had a bit more luck, seeing I covered my eyes with arms… At least they weren't damaged! But still…

"_What the hell_, Princeton?!" I screeched at Chazz who was smiling smugly. He was still holding a bucket in his hands. "What's your problem?!" Jaden demanded with a frown. "That will teach you not to disturb me anymore." He slammed the door behind him while laughing.

Honestly, that guy was a moron! How was tearing down the dorm supposed to be my fault?! Did I deserve to be covered in white paint?! No. He actually didn't give a damn whose fault it was. He just wanted to take his anger out on nearest people, and three of us happened to be his victims. Just great…

"I sincerely hope they have a water hose here." Ben commented. "They do…" Jaden sighed. "We look ridiculous." I frowned. "Well, it's not every day you get covered in white!" My cousin pointed out with a chuckle. "He does have a point." The brown-haired guy agreed. He then started laughing. Ben joined him.

Looking down at myself, I realized they were right. It was something out of stories… "I'm even whiter now than usual." I muttered, looking down at my arms. Those words made the two guys burst in even more laughter.

I had to admit, our current predicament _was_ funny… I'd like to see anyone try to outmatch me with paleness after what had just happened!

I started laughing along with them. However, it didn't last long, since we heard someone shouting. Turning around, we quickly saw Bonaparte falling to the ground. Holograms disappeared, which meant the duel was over. If Bonaparte was on the ground, did that mean…

"WAY TO GO, CROWLER!" I could hear cheering. "Crowler won!" Jaden exclaimed happily. "We're safe." Ben sighed in relief. They started running downstairs, with me joining them. We must have looked like lunatics, with our current appearance…

When we ran to others, they were gaping at us. "Sam Hill…" Hassleberry trailed off in astonishment. "Great Scott! What on Earth happened to you three?!" Bastion gaped. "Chazz splashed us with white paint." Ben explained with a sigh. "I can't believe it…" Alexis shook her head in disbelief.

"Did you at least find what you were looking for?!" Bastion then frowned at me. "Yes?" I responded with a questioning look. "You just running there could have got you hurt." He pointed out in disapproval. "He's right, you know." Syrus added while Hassleberry and Alexis nodded. "Good thing Ben told Jaden that they should go after you." The girl frowned.

Looking at all of them, I realized they were right. Me running inside a dorm ready for tearing down _wasn't _a bright idea… If anything, it was just plain stupid! What was I thinking?! I shouldn't have panicked so much!

"Sorry." I said simply. "What matters is all of you are fine, even though you look a bit.. _Unusual_…" Hassleberry stated. The rest of them nodded in what seemed to be agreement. "Thankfully, water hose will solve the problem." Alexis smiled.

While workers were busy rebuilding the dorm, we walked to the back of it. The water hose was there. "You should have seen Bonaparte's face when he saw you three running inside." Syrus commented in a bit of amusement. "He's right," Hassleberry said while turning on the water hose. "The look on his face was priceless!"

"At one point, he started shouting how you three were trying to sabotage the demolition." Bastion stated. Hassleberry then splashed Ben with water from the hose. After few seconds, white paint was completely gone from his body. He was wet, of course, but at least he wasn't covered in that paint…

Hassleberry then did the same to Jaden, who then walked towards Ben. Both of them were in the sun, trying to dry themselves. "Wait," I said, quickly putting my things to the side. "Go ahead." I then said. Right after I had said that, I was splashed with cold water, which made me start shaking a bit.

By now, the guy turned off the water hose and put it aside. "Thank you." I told him. Hassleberry nodded back.

I looked up at the sun. It was then it finally hit me. I may have had problems, but I just got rid of a major one… I just avoided being sent to another school! Feelings of happiness grew inside of me. I wasn't going to get expelled, and I wasn't going anywhere…

**Well, finally done! I technically couldn't avoid this episode since this is Serena's dorm being demolished, so I hope I managed to make chapter at least a bit interesting… Seeing how the story goes, Dio should be appearing very soon, and I just can't wait. Forgive me, I'm still under the influence of various Jojo memes lmao…**

**Seeing picture for the fic was mentioned in a review, I wanted to add something. In case anyone's interested more in what Serena's supposed to look like, I posted two more drawings on my account on Deviantart (same name). I'll probably post some other things concerning the story once I get inspiration for drawing, and if it doesn't contain spoilers… XD**

**Words in Italian: **

**Stupido-stupid, idiot;**

**fantastic-fantastic;**

**che diavolo è quello-What the hell is that.**

**Words in French:**

**Mon ami-my friend;**

**monsieur-mister;**

**messieurs-misters;**

**les enfants-children;**

**finalement-finally;**

**au revoir-goodbye;**

**pourquoi-why;**

**voisin-male neighbor.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	19. Trouble Brewing

**Ghost of Magic****: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked my take on his character. :)**

**Well, let's get down to business, shall we? I'd say this chapter is another of first turning points in the story, you'll see why.**

**This chapter takes place during 'Obelisk White?'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

Even though November was slowly nearing towards the end, days were still warm on this island. It was a nice morning when I came out of my room. Thankfully, it was Saturday, so we had no classes today. Saturday and Sunday were actually my favorite days of the week here, since we could do whatever we pleased.

"_Buongiorno, cugina_." Ben greeted with a smile, closing the door of his room behind. "_Buongiorno_." I greeted back and started stretching out. "Had a good sleep this time?" He presumed while walking up to me. I simply nodded, pulling my gloves tighter.

He then took out his phone and put it against his ear. After a few moments, he frowned. "That's strange…" He muttered. "What's up?" I tilted my head a bit to right in confusion. "Mum's not answering my call." I couldn't help frowning a bit.

I hadn't talked to Aunt Maria ever since she hung up that day… Neither had Ben. She had a lot of trouble in California after all, with the 'Industrial Illusions' scandal still being a hot topic… Despite all that, I couldn't help feeling bitter and a bit mad. I still hadn't forgot how she had lied to me about not knowing what my memories were…

"Maybe she's busy." I finally suggested. My cousin looked up at me, his green eyes staring right into my light blue ones. "She promised to call me this morning at 8 AM. It's half past eight now." He explained with a sigh. "Maybe she's tired. That scandal is a pretty big thing after all." I then shrugged.

Ben kept looking at me, apparently still not convinced. "Look," I groaned. "If she doesn't call you today, then we'll call her together tonight. Deal?" I offered. "Deal." He said after a few moments.

"You're still mad at Mum for apparently keeping secrets then for you?" My cousin's eyebrows then furrowed. "A bit." I admitted while running hands through my mess of hair. "Since you believe she refuses to tell you anything, did you have any luck after that talk with Dorothy?" Ben asked.

I shook my head. "Not for now, at least. There was nothing unusual that I've come across in the album." "Maybe your parents have some old things they're hiding in the attic, or something…" My cousin trailed off in his thoughts. "Except that they're not here while we're stuck on this island." I reminded with a frown.

"_Purtroppo_." Ben rolled his eyes. "This makes things even more inconvenient…" He let out a sigh.

I rolled my eyes and started playing with the Deck Box strapped to right side of my waist. That was when it hit me.

The boy referred to himself as 'future King of Games'… That title was mostly associated to _Duel Monsters _from what I knew. Him explaining the card's effects in those flashbacks from before also added to it. He had loved dueling.

I looked at my Deck Box yet again, a crazy idea forming in my mind. As much as I was against it in general, maybe… Maybe it could help me remember some things?

"Ben," I said while looking up at him. My hands were still on the Deck Box. In fact, they were slowly taking its content out of it. "Si?" My cousin asked. "I want you to duel me." I responded firmly and lifted up the cards in my right hand.

I kind of expected what his reaction would be, considering he knew me very well… And that was the reaction I got. No surprises there at all.

Ben was looking at me as if I had grown two more heads. "You want me to _duel you_?" He repeated in obvious astonishment. I nodded with a determined look on my face. "No offense cuzo, but have you hit your head somewhere? Is this some sort of a joke?" He suddenly began asking me.

"I'm serious, Ben," I started while shaking my head. "I want you to duel me. Maybe it can help me in recovering some memories." "Oh…" He trailed off with a look of realization on his face. "I get it. Even though you wanting to duel is a bit unusual," He then pointed out the truth. "Let's duel!" He grinned.

"It's a deal." I smirked, feeling a bit amused my cousin was now excited. "Just to make it clear. Cousin or not, I won't hold back." Ben declared. "I don't expect you to. I won't hold back either." I rolled my eyes with a smirk.

With those words, I placed my cards back in the box and closed it. We then raced to the dorm to get our Duel Disks.

**Third Person's POV**

It was a warm morning in the city of Nagoya. Sun rays were coming through open window of one house.

Naomi Suzuki let out a yawn while walking out of her bedroom. Her short, blond hair was messy, and she was dressed in a white nightgown. She made her way towards the living room. "Morning, Bell Tree." Ken greeted from his sitting place on a couch. He was already dressed in a long-sleeved, dark blue shirt with a collar and pants. and "Morning." She greeted back with a small wave. That was when she yawned yet again.

"Didn't sleep well?" The man raised an eyebrow. "I did, but I could still have some more." She sighed and started running fingers through her messy hair. "Like mother, like son." Ken commented with a smirk and his arms folded. "I really don't know who's worse out of you two." He then started laughing.

Naomi frowned at him. She was still running fingers through hair. "I have a job, which is why I'm allowed to sleep more only at weekends." She reminded. "Whatever you say, Bell Tree." The man rolled his eyes yet again. His brown eyes then landed on the woman's hair. "I think it's about time you went to hairdresser again."

"Why?" She gave him a questioning look. "Your hair dye is starting to fade." He explained. With a frown, Naomi made her way to the nearest mirror. Ken was right; hair dye started fading. Instead of being blond, the part where her hair roots were, was now a bit dark brown as well. It wasn't that drastic, but still a bit noticeable.

The woman let out a sigh. "I guess that means I have to put on my hat again." She sat on another couch next to the man. "You won't have to wear it long if you call for an appointment now." He reminded. "I know, I'll call him today." She answered, just as Ken took a remote control.

He turned on the TV. "No newspapers?" Naomi's eyebrows furrowed. "All of them were sold out when I came to the shop. I decided to just see what was up on TV instead then." The man shrugged. "Weird… Something must have happened if they sold all the newspapers so quickly." She noted. "We're about to see." He turned on the TV, switching to the news channel.

"_Here we are, right in front of Industrial Illusions headquarters. After this month's break-in, another terrible event occurred in this building last night." _A woman journalist was talking on TV.

"Industrial Illusions again?!" Ken let out a groan of disbelief, only for Naomi to shush him with a frown. She wanted to hear what the journalist was talking about. That was impossible most of time since Ken loved commenting at the same time someone was talking. However, she wanted to hear it clearly this time, since her friend worked in that place.

"_According to this morning's news, ten workers went missing last night without a proper explanation in the building. They're nowhere to be found, and their families are worried sick. Maximilion Pegasus doesn't want to comment further on the current situation, but allowed witnesses to tell us what they saw. He also added how they're doing their best to find missing co-workers." _

At those words, the man and the woman looked at each other wide-eyed. "How could they go missing?!" Ken exclaimed. "Hush, you." Naomi shushed him, wanting to hear what witnesses had to say. There were two of them. She recognized one as the koala-looking guy. However, the second man was unknown to her.

"_One of our co-workers called ten of us to one of rooms we use for taking a break," Chumley Huffington began talking with a frown. "I went outside for a bit of fresh air, when I saw white light coming through the room's window." He stopped for a moment, as if trying to remember what happened next. "The light was so blinding, that I couldn't see what was going on inside. I could even hear some screaming. I ran back inside, and my co-worker told me all of those people were missing." _

"_Thank you, Mr. Huffington," The woman nodded before moving her microphone over to another man. He had short, black hair and black eyes. He was of average build, also dressed in formal clothing. "I was in front of the room when I heard screaming. I raced to open the door, but they were locked." He explained calmly. "By the time I picked up the lock, no one was inside. It was as if they had disappeared." "I haven't seen anyone jumping outside the window either." Chumley Huffington added._

By now, Naomi managed to take the remote out of Ken's hands. She quickly turned off the TV. They sat there silently for a few moments, until…

"How could have ten people managed to disappear from a locked room?!" Ken demanded in disbelief. "Journalists, Ken. They like to make up things." Naomi reminded bitterly. "I know that very well, but this wasn't from the journalist, Naomi. Maria's co-workers said so!" He exclaimed. "You're right, she let them speak." She admitted after a few seconds.

She then sighed. "Maybe Maria will be able to tell us more." She stood up and grabbed the laptop from the table. After turning it on, she dialed the Italian woman. But there was no answer. "That's weird. Maria usually answers my calls." The woman frowned. "Either she's busy, or it's a bad connection." Ken suggested. Naomi pursed her lips for a few moments. She wasn't sure what exactly was happening at the moment… Everything was so confusing… "Maybe." She finally said, while looking at the laptop's screen.

**Serena's POV**

Once I got my Duel Disk, I closed the door and raced outside. Ben was by the door's entrance. For some reason, Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Alexis and Hassleberry were with him. "Hey, Serena." Jaden and Syrus greeted me. The rest of them simply nodded in my direction. "Hey." I greeted back shortly before looking at my cousin. "We're having that duel or not?" I asked.

"We are, Jaden just wanted to stay and watch it." Ben explained. The Duel Disk was under his right armpit.

The moment he said that, I couldn't help frowning. I kind of wanted this thing to stay private, since we were dueling in hopes of me remembering something… My memory problem wasn't something I was willing to share with others after all!

"Do you have to?" I asked bluntly. Everyone's eyes turned to me the moment I said those words. Ben covered his face in what seemed to be embarrassment. The rest of them, on the other hand, were just staring at me.

It was then I realized what I had just said. It definitely sounded rude…

"Please, forgive my cousin," Ben told Jaden. "She's sometimes way too tactless for her own good." The brown-haired guy was blinking at him for a few moments in what seemed to be surprise. Finally, he smiled. "No biggie." "You can stay to watch." Ben nodded. "I'll stay too." Syrus suddenly spoke up, much to my surprise. Why in the world were they so interested in seeing our duel?!

"In that case, I'm going to the card shop." Bastion folded his arms. "I'll come along." Alexis nodded. "Can someone please see today's front-page news?" Ben asked them. "I'll see them for you, soldier." Hassleberry stood up. "Thanks." My cousin smiled, earning a nod from the guy.

Once the three of them started walking towards the main building, Ben looked at me. "I know you're not exactly willing for them to watch our duel… But we can keep your problem a secret. Please?" He gave me a pleading look. I looked between him, Syrus and Jaden back and forth. If those two wanted to see it so badly, then who was I to tell them not to watch? Both of them were kind to me, while my 'do you have to' ended up sounding rather rude… "Fine." I rolled my eyes.

While Jaden and Syrus sat on stairs, Ben and I walked to each other. He took his deck out of a pocket of his blazer. I took the deck out of my box. We then shuffled them for a few seconds. "I've been looking forward to this ever since they told you you'd attend Duel Academy." My cousin grinned at me. "Granted, I never thought it would actually happen, but still…"

"Just enjoy it, since this is a one-time opportunity." I responded in amusement while still shuffling my deck. We then put our decks into Duel Disk slots. Finally, we walked away from each other, each to the other side of the imaginary field by the dorm.

I activated my Duel Disk at the same time as Ben. "This is gonna be a sweet Duel!" I could hear Jaden saying in excitement just as I drew five cards. "Game on?" Ben smirked. "Game on." I decided to smirk for my cousin's sake. I didn't want to ruin this experience for him, since he was so excited…

**Ben: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"Ladies first." Ben declared, drawing five cards as well. "At least some people here have manners." I noted in a cold tone before drawing my sixth card. "I was taught by my parents to be a gentleman." He straightened up with a proud look on his face. "I have no doubt about that." I smirked in amusement.

Finally, I decided to look at all of my cards. There were some cards I already knew about, such as 'Mother Nature', 'Flowing Back', 'Wetland Flycatcher', 'Rapid Evolution' and 'Graceful Charity'. There was also a card I had never played before called 'Island Lava Cactus'.

A small smile appeared on my face as I looked at the new card. Even though it was called 'Island Lava Cactus', I knew exactly which island this plant was from. Lava Cactus was from Galapagos, the place where Charles Darwin developed his theories on evolution and adaptation. I wanted to visit that place so badly… One of things I would definitely do as soon as I graduated from this crazy school.

After looking at them for a few moments, I nodded. "I'll start by playing 'Graceful Charity," I declared, lifting up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to draw three cards, but I have to discard two after." I drew three cards and discarded two ('Wetland Flycatcher' and 'Mother Nature') from my hand.

Wetland Flycatcher couldn't do much without 'Nitrogen Boost', and I didn't have a higher-level monster at the moment… I wasn't particularly worried about discarding them though. I had chosen better cards…

"Then I'll summon Island Lava Cactus in Defense Mode!" I put the card in its slot. A yellow-colored (with a bit of grey parts on it), microphone-shaped cactus with eyes, and thorns covering its body (with two bigger ones serving as hands and legs respectively) appeared on the field in Defense Mode **(****ATK/DEF:700/2000)**.

"Lava Cactus?" I could hear Jaden and Syrus chorusing in confusion. Ben, on the other hand, smiled. "Your deck is full of surprises, cuzo." "If you say so." I simply nodded. "I'll then set three facedowns and end my turn." Three facedowns appeared on the field as I set them.

Ben drew his sixth card. "I'll summon Origami Crane in Attack Mode." A white, origami crane with eyes appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:700/2000)**. "I end my turn with three facedowns."

I drew another card. "I'll summon Desert Fox in Attack Mode." The fox appeared **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**.

I knew his facedowns were there as a bait for my attack… But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't attack him directly, nor did I have a card that could take away his Life Points… I had to go along with it for now.

"Desert Fox, attack his Origami Crane!" I ordered, clenching my right fist in process. The fox ran towards the monster, ready to attack it… "I activate 'Mirror Force'!" Ben declared, revealing his facedown. "With this card, all your monsters in Attack Mode are immediately destroyed."

My eyes widened once my fox disappeared from the field. Dang… I'd already had a problem with this card… Yes! I remembered it now. Jaden had used it to destroy my monster when we had our duel! I disliked that card more and more…

"Nice one." I commented sarcastically. "But because of my fox being destroyed, I can take either another Desert monster or another fox, and summon it to the field." I then reminded, taking a card out of my deck. "And I pick Arctic Fox in Attack Mode!" The fox appeared **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**.

"Nice, but I'm not done, cuzo." Ben smirked, making my eyes widen in surprise. "I activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon', to destroy one of your facedowns!" Another one of his facedowns revealed itself as 'Mystical Space Typhoon'. My 'Call Of The Haunted' trap card was destroyed in process.

A frown appeared on my face. He was good… "I set another facedown and end my turn." I said simply while setting the card in its slot.

"I think it's about time we heated things up. What do you think?" Ben grinned after drawing his card. "Do your worst." I replied nonchalantly. "Oh, I intend to…" He trailed off with a smirk. "And I'll start by activating 'Origami Ritual'!" He lifted up a card I had never heard of before. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I knew Ben had some Ritual Monsters; he had told me so himself… Except that I never really understood what the point was with the Ritual Summoning. Ben briefly explained it to me, but I forgot it because it sounded quite complicated… The only thing I remembered was it required some Tribute, or something like that.

"Thanks to this card, by tributing Origami Elephant from my hand, I can summon Origami Dinosaur to the field!" A dinosaur which looked like it was made from origami appeared on the field with a growl **(****ATK/DEF:2200/2000)**.

I raised an eyebrow. "So that's Ritual Summoning, huh?" I wondered aloud. "Impressed?" Ben smirked. "Not bad." I said simply.

Honestly, I was glad my deck didn't have any Ritual Monsters or Spell Cards. Just remembering what you had to tribute and what you had to have with you sounded like such a pain in the butt… Even _Polymerization _sounded more reasonable than this!

"_What are those things?" I asked in confusion while looking at few cards on the table. "Those are Ritual Monsters." The boy explained while taking one card in his hand. "They're yours?" I looked up curiously. "No. Your Aunt left them here so you could see them." "I still don't get what they're supposed to do." I admitted in a bit of embarrassment._

"_Those monsters can only be summoned by using Ritual Spell Cards. However, you also have some other conditions for their summoning. For example, you have to tribute a monster while playing the card, and you need to have the spell card, the monster you want to tribute, and the one you want to summon all in your hand." The boy explained. "That sounds so complicated…" I trailed off. "I agree." He spoke up. _

_I looked up. "Do you even use those things?" "No. I tried once, and didn't like them." _

"Earth to Serena!" Ben's voice brought me back to reality. I quickly shook my head to get back to my cousin was giving me a slightly concerned look, while Jaden and Syrus were looking at me curiously.

I was holding head with my right hand, taking in what just happened. It proved my idea was a good one, this provoked some sort of a memory… A bit of unclear one, but it was still something. Maybe I would remember something else, which was why I had intention of continuing this duel.

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out for a few seconds." I apologized. "So, you went through all the trouble to summon this guy?" I then pointed at his dinosaur. "Yup, and his Special Effect activates!" Ben grinned. "Once he's summoned, I'm allowed to destroy one of your facedowns…" My eyes widened in surprise.

I immediately began hoping he would pick 'Rapid Evolution' since he could destroy one… I didn't like the idea, but other two facedowns were more useful right now!

"And I choose the one on your left!" He did it! He picked 'Rapid Evolution'! The card was immediately destroyed. A small smirk appeared on my face. Thankfully, Ben didn't seem to notice. "Now, attack her fox!" He ordered.

"I activate 'Flowing Back'!" I cried, revealing one of my facedowns. "Ever heard of that card, Jay?" I could hear Syrus asking. "No." I could hear Jaden answering.

"Thanks to this card, your attack is negated, and you lose the amount of points equal to my monster's Attack Points." I explained with a smirk. Suddenly, orange light appeared around Ben. He flinched as he lost 1800 Life Points.

**Ben: 2200 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"That's one sweet card…" I could hear Jaden trailing off in what seemed to be excitement. "Well, that was… _Unexpected_." Ben straightened up. "I end my turn."

I drew another card. "I think you'll like this one." I looked up at my cousin with a smirk. "I activate my continuous trap, 'Mutual Benefit'!" I declared. Ben's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I could even hear those two muttering how they had never seen this card. This was the first time I ever used it, really…

"So, here's how it goes. By paying 1000 of my Life Points, I can add them to my monster's Attack Points during your, or my turn," I started explaining, making my cousin's eyes widen. "And those 1000 points disappear after my turn is over. In this case, my fox gains 1000 more Attack Points." Blue light appeared around both me and the fox, as I paid 1000 points and the fox gained them **(****ATK/DEF:2800/1600)**.

**Ben: 2200 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

"2800 points…" Ben trailed off in realization. "Si! Now, attack his dinosaur!" I ordered, waving with my right hand. "I activate 'First Aid'!" He quickly revealed a familiar facedown card. I should know, since he had let me borrow it for my duel with Bonaparte… "I think you know what that card does." He smirked at me. "You gain 150 points for every monster on my side of field." I stated. "Precisely."

**Ben: 2500 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

At that moment, fox destroyed his dinosaur, causing smoke to appear. He covered his hands, losing 600 points in process.

**Ben: 1900 LP**

**Me: 3000 LP**

"I end my turn." I finished, just as the fox's Attack Points returned to normal **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**.

Ben drew another card with a frown. "I activate 'Pot of Greed'." He lifted up the card. "It allows me to draw two cards." He did so. A smile appeared on his face. My guess was he must have drawn something good…

"Then I activate 'The Return', which allows me to bring back a monster from graveyard to the field. So, my Origami Dinosaur comes back!" He declared, just as the monster reappeared **(****ATK/DEF:2200/2000)**. I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

Just when I managed to get rid of the thing, here it was again…

"Except that he won't stay long since I activate 'One For The Other'," Ben showed me another card. "It allows me to sacrifice the Dinosaur to summon another monster from my hand… My Origami Dragon!" He exclaimed with his right fist clenched.

Wind started blowing, making me cover my eyes. It stopped after a few moments. I quickly looked up to see a huge, red, dragon which looked like it was made from origami **(****ATK/DEF:3000/2500)**. My eyes widened in surprise.

3000 points?! Wow. Something told me that was Ben's strongest monster in the deck…

"And now its Special Effect activates! The difference between the dragon's and the sacrificed monster's Attack Points goes to the dragon as Attack Points!" White light appeared around the dragon **(****ATK/DEF:3800/2000)**

My goodness… That was a lot of points! I had to do something, or I would lose heck of Life Points!

"Now, attack her fox!" Ben ordered. "I activate 'Mutual Benefit'!" I quickly exclaimed, making blue light appear around me and the fox. Its points rose **(****ATK/DEF:2800/1600), **while mine fell to 2000.

**Ben: 1900 LP**

**Me: 2000 LP**

The dragon spat fire at my fox, destroying it in process. Smoke appeared. I covered my eyes as wind started blowing, and I lost more Life Points.

**Ben: 1900 LP**

**Me: 1000 LP**

"You're good, cuzo. I have to admit that." Ben smiled at me once I looked at him. "You're better." I said simply.

"_This time, you're going down." The boy declared. "I've already figured out your strategy, you know." I pointed out in amusement while shuffling my deck. "But I won't play the same thing over and over." He replied firmly. _

_I looked up in surprise. "Really?" "Yes." "How come? I mean, you play that thing all the time…" I voiced my confusion. "I decided to follow your and your aunt's advice. While I wouldn't trade it for any other card in the world, there's no point in playing the same card all the time. A good duelist can't use the same strategy over and over." The boy explained cheerfully._

"_Aunt Maria told you that, didn't she?" I guessed. "Yes. You have the best aunt in the world." He said. "I know, but I mostly think that because of her cooking, not dueling." I laughed. "Well, both! Beside her good cooking, she really taught me a lot about dueling… She's my role model." "She'd be glad to hear that." I smiled._

I grabbed my head with right hand yet again. Yet another memory… Whoever that boy was, he used to really admire Aunt Maria, based on what I figured out… And she taught him how to be a better duelist. That just proved Aunt was lying to me for some reason… The question was _why_.

"I end my turn." Ben said. I quickly shook my head to get back to my senses.

Drawing another card, I looked up at his dragon. I stood no chance against it with my current monsters… However, I could still force this into a draw, thanks to my card.

"I activate 'Fair In War'." I lifted up the card in my right hand. It started glowing. "With this card, both of us lose points equal to the lowest amount of my monster's Attack Points…" I explained, making Ben's eyes widen. "What?!" I could hear Jaden and Syrus asking in surprise. "Since my Cactus is the only monster left, and it has 2000 points…" "Then it's a draw." Ben concluded in realization, making me nod.

An explosion could be heard, along with wind blowing and smoke appearing. I covered my eyes from the impact, just as both of our Life Points dropped to zero.

**Ben: 0 LP**

**Me: 0 LP**

Once smoke disappeared, I could see Ben looking at me with a smile. Monsters disappeared from the field. He deactivated his Duel Disk and pulled out his cards. I did the same, returning my deck to the box.

He then walked up to me. "Great duel, cuzo. I totally didn't see that draw coming." He offered me a hi-five. I clapped my hand against his with a small smile. I was happy he enjoyed this duel… While I was against dueling in general, getting to spend more time with my cousin wasn't bad at all… Even if I had to duel.

"That was a sweet duel, you two!" Jaden said while walking up to us. "He's right." Syrus nodded, joining us. "Your deck is awesome. Where did you get it? I'd never seen those cards before." The brown-haired guy asked me curiously.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Ben beat me to it. "My mum won it in a tournament held by Pegasus a few years ago. She then gave it to Serena before her entrance exam." He explained. "However, Serena has an incomplete deck at the moment."

All eyes turned to me. I bit my lip. I didn't want to talk about my deck so much, yet Ben had just spilt the beans… It would be wrong of me to act as if he were lying. What was the point in lying anyway? He had just said everything!

"What does he mean?" Syrus raised an eyebrow. "The deck Aunt won at that tournament is known as 'Deck Of Nature'. It consists of two halves. The first one is the one you had seen. "'The Deck Of Living Nature'." Jaden remembered. I nodded. "The other half is with cards involving Unliving Nature." "Then why don't you have it with you?" The short guy questioned. "My aunt thought I'd be fine with only one half for my first year. She said she'd give me the other half once I proved to be worthy of it." I briefly explained.

"Well, if this is only one half, then I can't wait to see the other one once you get it." Jaden commented with a smile, his brown eyes looking straight into my light blue ones.

Honestly, I doubted I would ever get the other half, since I didn't care about those cards… I opted not to tell him that though. Instead, I simply nodded while looking away. Even though talking to him was easier now, there was something about that guy I couldn't put my finger on… _Why _was talking to him so much easier than with the rest?!

"Soldier, there weren't any newspapers at the card shop." Hassleberry's voice made us turn around. He, Alexis and Bastion were walking towards us. I smirked in amusement. Lack of newspapers _was _weird, but I couldn't wait to see Ben's reaction… He couldn't live without them.

And he reacted just as I would expect. "How's that possible?!" His green eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Dorothy said they sold out every copy this morning. Something must have happened." Bastion folded his arms with a frown. "However, she kept one copy. She knows about your habits, so she offered to give it to you." Alexis explained.

"Dorothy is a genius…" Ben sighed in relief. "I'd better go and see what they said in the news." "Come back to tell us." Bastion reminded. "I will." He nodded. He looked at all of them for a moment, until his eyes landed on me. "Cuzo, mind coming over here with me?" He motioned to the side.

I nodded, following him there. "Did our duel help you in remembering something?" "It did." I nodded, remembering those two flashbacks. "Two things, in fact." I then added. "Great, we can discuss that once I read those newspapers." Ben grinned.

However, he stopped yet again. "I know you're not willing to talk about your nightmare…" He trailed off while looking at me. "But you know I would never hurt you?" He then asked. "Where did you get that idea from?!" I demanded in surprise. I mean, he did help people in that dream, but I never told him that…

In fact, I didn't tell him anything! He decided not to ask me about it anymore after seeing that… So where did this idea suddenly come from?

"You looked like you were afraid of me when you woke up." Ben looked at me seriously. "So, if I did something in that nightmare of yours, I want you to know I'd never hurt you." He then smiled.

Even though I got over that nightmare, hearing Ben saying that made me feel at even more ease. He reassured me even more that what I dreamed of was nothing more than a bad dream… It also reassured me he cared about me, and would never try to hurt me in any way. Even when I sometimes treated him badly, he was still there for me…

"I love you, Ben. I'm sorry I don't say it so often…" I looked up at my cousin with a smile and quickly hugged him. "I love you too, cuzo." He hugged me back happily.

We then pulled away. "I'd better get going. Dorothy isn't going to wait forever!" He ran off, making me laugh.

"Wonder what could be so important to have all newspapers sold…" Syrus commented in confusion while watching Ben running away next to me. "Beats me." I shrugged my shoulders. "Ben will tell us as soon as he gets his hands on them." Jaden pointed out, walking up beside us. "Good point." I spoke up coldly while playing with my left glove.

His brown eyes then landed on me. "Ben said his mum gave you that deck?" He repeated curiously. I looked up at him in a bit of surprise. I wasn't even sure why he was asking me this… "Yes, my aunt." I nodded.

Before anyone could say anything else, shouting could be heard.

"ALEXIS!" All of us turned around to see two girls running in our direction. Those were the girls I had seen a few times before… "Um, who are those two?" I asked Jaden and Syrus quietly. I would have asked Ben that, but he unfortunately wasn't here right now…

Both of the guys looked at me. "The one with pigtails is Mindy." Syrus responded quietly. "The other one is Jasmine." Jaden added. "Jasmine, Mindy." I nodded, repeating their names. It was then I noticed they were staring at me.

Not knowing what to do, I cleared my throat. Them staring at me like that was a bit embarrassing, I had to admit… "I believe Ben informed you about my 'forgetting names' habit…" I frowned, feeling my cheeks turning a bit red. "Oh, yeah." They suddenly remembered.

"It's an emergency!" One of the girls shouted just as they were in front of us. "Something happened to our dorm!" The other one added. "This better be legit." I could hear Alexis muttering before she started running along with the two girls. "Hey, wait for us!" Jaden shouted.

He, Bastion, Hassleberry, Syrus and I ran after the girls. While I couldn't care less about dueling, I had to admit, I was a bit curious about what happened to Obelisk Blue dorm… Besides, that was Ben's dorm. He had to be informed about news on campus, not only from newspapers!

* * *

By the time I caught up with others, bright light was shining directly towards my eyes. "What in the world?!" I demanded in disbelief and quickly covered them with my arm. "I guess Obelisk Blue is not so blue anymore…" I could hear Syrus saying.

Since I didn't understand what the guy was talking about, I quickly took the arm off my eyes. I looked up to see the Obelisk Blue dorm… Except that it was completely painted in white! That's why it was shining so brightly… I couldn't help frowning.

Who in the world would paint a dorm completely in white?! What was the point of it?!

"Great Scott!" Bastion exclaimed in shock. "Who could have done this?" Alexis demanded in disbelief. I decided to observe the dorm better. Literally every inch of it was covered with white paint… "It looks as awful as when we were covered with it." Jaden commented in surprise.

My eyes quickly darted to him at those words. A good point there, I had to admit… That was when it hit me. Of course! Who else carried white paint around campus nowadays? It was so obvious who did this!

"Princeton really outdid himself this time." I let out a groan, making the others look at me. "What makes you think that was Chazz?" The girl with pigtails (not sure which one was which, I'd already forgotten their names) frowned at me. "That idiot happened to splash me with a can of white paint a while ago." I folded my arms coldly.

"Chazz's the only one carrying white paint around..." Syrus agreed. "She's got a point." Hassleberry added. "But he couldn't have done it all by himself." Alexis argued while looking around. "Another good point." Bastion folded his arms. That was when her hazel eyes widened. "Atticus!" She cried, and started running over to somewhere.

My eyes followed her to see her running to her older sibling. Right now, he was lying on the ground. She kneeled down to help him up on his knees. The rest of us ran up to them, to see what the heck was happening here.

"The whole dorm's gone nuts… I tried to do something, but I was just too late!" Atticus said, sounding rather weak. "Why's it late? What made them go nuts?" Alexis questioned. "They're with him now, that's why…" "Princeton, or someone else?" I asked curiously with hands on my knees. However, I never got my answer. Not from Atticus, actually.

Suddenly, the door of the dorm opened. My eyes widened as a lot of students started walking out. All of them were dressed in the same, white uniform Chazz wore. Speaking of the crazy guy, some students were even carrying him on a chair! Turns out I was right…

But wait. Why were they doing that?! What in the world was happening?!

"I'm getting really confused here…" Jaden trailed off while rubbing the back of his head. "Same." Syrus, Bastion and Hassleberry chorused. "You've _got to_ be kidding me…" Alexis let out a groan.

A smug smile appeared on Chazz's face. "It's good to be the Chazz, and this is just the start! Soon, I'll see to it that the entire world sees the Light!" He declared. "ALL HAIL THE SOCIETY OF LIGHT, ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ!" The rest of the students started chanting.

The rest of us were simply blinking at the sight in both confusion and astonishment. I then let out a groan.

Here he was, going on about his 'see the Light' thing… It was really getting on my nerves by now. How could 'you see the Light' since sun shone pretty much every day here?! And what was up with 'the Society Of Light'?! Who were they?! And why were those guys just like Chazz now?!

"Does anyone here know what on Earth he's talking about?" Bastion spoke up with a frown. "No idea." Those two girls chorused. "He mentioned that society a few times…" Syrus pointed out. "He said how they hold all the answers." Hassleberry added.

By now, the students finished with their chanting. "Thank you, boys," Chazz chuckled. "But I think we should give some props to the person who's really responsible for all this…" He trailed off. My eyebrows furrowed, as I waited for him to say the damn name already…

"AND THAT'S SARTORIUS!" He suddenly spread out his hands and shouted.

The moment those words came out of his mouth, my heart started beating faster, and I literally stopped breathing for a few moments. My face must have been even paler by now.

I couldn't even process what he had said properly. I… I must have misheard him…

"ALL HAIL MASTER SARTORIUS!" The rest of the students started chanting yet again.

My breathing stopped for a few seconds once more. I was sure I had misheard him… But those students just said so as well. They said 'Sartorius' loud and clear…

I honestly didn't know what to think of it. _Why _did they mention Sartorius out of all people? And why were they referring to him as _Master_? Would that mean he had something to do with this 'Light' thing?! If he did, then why?! Chazz was aggressive, and literally tried to assault me, while Sartorius would never hurt anyone… What in the world…

"Serena, are you alright?" Jaden's voice asked, just as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I could see him staring at me. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?!" I demanded, sounding rather panicked because of all the thoughts I had just had. "You literally froze in place." He noted. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." I quickly took his hand off my shoulder with a frown.

He had a perplexed look, but didn't say anything else to me. Instead, he looked up at Chazz. "He's more than just that," Princeton spoke up, apparently talking about something I had missed out on due to my panic. "Sartorius holds the answers to the greatest questions of the universe!"

By now, I was in both panic and confusion. I had no idea what Princeton was talking about, but I also panicked he was even mentioning Sartorius' name with all this! I just _couldn't _believe he had anything to do with this. I _refused _to. How could I even know Chazz was telling the truth?! There was no proof. I didn't see Sartorius come here with my own eyes. _No one _could convince me to believe in something I hadn't seen myself!

Whoever that other Sartorius was, good for him and his stupid society! Besides, I was actually blowing this out of proportion. Just because they had same name, that didn't mean Chazz was talking about the one I knew… Again, _no proof_.

"He's finally gone insane." Bastion let out a sigh. "Firmly agree, soldier." Hassleberry nodded. "Hey, Chazz!" Jaden suddenly turned around to look at Princeton with hands over his mouth. "I get it now! You and your friends must have been exposed to too many white paint fumes, that's all!"

I raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired guy. Where he got that idea from, I didn't know… In fact, it was absurd. Chazz had been going crazy _way before_ he had painted the entire dorm white… How else would he come up with that insane idea?! Paint fumes had nothing to do with this!

"Don't blame poor paint fumes for Princeton's insanity. He still had had the idea of painting this dorm _before_ they were exposed to them." I told Jaden pointedly. He blinked at me in surprise.

The moment I said those words, literally every one of white-dressed students fell down (even dropping the chair Chazz had been sitting on). They were apparently appalled by our comments… I covered my mouth not to laugh. Them falling to the ground like that was rather amusing…

"The only crazy ones are YOU, PEOPLE!" Chazz stood up, shouting at us. "When it comes to the truth, you're all in the dark! Face me in a duel, and I'll show you the Light!" He declared.

I frowned at him. I was _perfectly_ sane, thank you very much… At this point, I wanted him to shut up so badly…

"You know me, I can't say 'no' to a duel." Jaden shrugged. "You can duel me too if you think I'm crazy." I told Chazz sarcastically. The rest of sane (by that I mean _not _dressed in white) people here gave me incredulous looks. "You want to duel _twice_ in one day? I thought you hated dueling…" Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "If dueling means I get to shut him up, then I'm all up for it." I responded firmly.

"Hold on," Alexis stood up, just as Jaden was about to say something else. "I may not live here anymore, but I'm still an Obelisk." She pointed out with a frown. "You mean you want to duel him?" "But he's insane!" Those two girls said. "Then he shouldn't be too hard to beat, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

"_Wrong_." Atticus responded to that statement. "Trust me, Lex, all of those guys dueled him and lost! That's why they're like this now." He motioned with his head towards them.

What? How could have _all of them _lost against him?!

"_All of them_?" Bastion demanded incredulously, earning him a nod from Atticus. "Well, it's up to me to save them." Alexis spoke up determinedly. "Ready to do this, Princeton?!" "Are _you _ready to see the Light?" Chazz smiled smugly in response. "Guess what? I already know how it's going to end, thanks to a _very _dear friend of mine…" He trailed off with that expression still on his face. "We'll see about that." The girl glared.

Whoever that dear friend of his was, I wish he had told him to just _shut up_… Hopefully, Alexis would have the honor of shutting him up instead!

* * *

We were going towards the Dueling Arena. I wanted to see Chazz lose in that duel so badly right now… However, for some reason, I hadn't seen Ben ever since our talk. I knew he liked reading newspapers… But surely it couldn't have lasted that long? He would miss the duel!

"Accardi, Yuki, mind coming over here?" Chazz suddenly motioned for Jaden and me to walk over to him. "Uh, sure." The brown-haired guy shrugged. "Don't worry, we'll be there in a minute." He then told others who were looking at Chazz skeptically.

I had no idea what Chazz wanted with us, but the sooner we got over it, the better…

We followed Chazz down the hall. "So, why are you two so convinced I'm insane?" He asked while looking at his sleeve. "I didn't say anything about that. But I still think you were exposed to too many fumes…" Jaden trailed off. "You want my honest opinion, Princeton?" I frowned. "Go ahead, Accardi." "I think you'd gone off the deep end."

Suddenly, the guy stopped. We did so as well. "I'd gone off the deep end, huh? How… _Interesting_, Accardi."

Before I could even process what was going on, Chazz slammed the door open to one room. Suddenly, he grabbed Jaden by his wrist violently. "Hey!" Jaden yelled in astonishment before Chazz pushed him inside. I had no time to react properly out of shock. That explained it why I didn't do anything when he grabbed me by my wrist and pushed me inside too.

"What the hell, Princeton?!" I shouted. That was when he slammed the door shut. I think I even heard him locking them. Jaden tried to open the door to no avail. It was locked… "Chazz, this isn't funny!" He then shouted over to him. "It's _not _supposed to be. I'd told you you'd pay, Accardi…." Chazz's voice said from the outside. He then started laughing.

"PRINCETON, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" I screeched and tried to open the door as well. "Come on, Chazz, chill out!" Jaden shouted as well. I even started kicking them in hopes of somehow breaking through them. However, it didn't work.

Chazz's voice actually couldn't be heard anymore. That meant… He left us here? How dare he?!

"PRINCETON!" I screeched yet again while Jaden unsuccessfully tried to open the door. "It's no use." He sighed. "What in the world was that for?!" I demanded angrily. "No idea. Although I wish he hadn't locked us up here out of all places…" He sighed.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?" I asked. "This is the Academy's boiler room, that's why." By now, I was looking at him in disbelief. It was then I noticed how hot it was in here.

Princeton had definitely gone insane… What did he want?! What was the point of locking us up in the boiler room?!

"If we don't get out of here, we're done for." I frowned and started banging against the door yet again. Jaden joined me in doing so. We were banging against the door for good five minutes. However, no one seemed to hear us. "We're going to miss the duel…" The guy let out a sigh.

Once I heard those words, I looked at him in disbelief. I _couldn't _believe what I had just heard. Who knew what could happen since we were in a _boiler room_… And that duel was still in his mind?!

"Are you insane?!" I shouted at Jaden, making him flinch. "What makes you think that?" He blinked at me in confusion. "We're stuck in a boiler room, and all you can think about is that duel?!" I asked angrily. "Panicking is not exactly helping either." He noted. "So is not doing anything!" I fired back.

"Serena, just calm down…" He told me calmly. "How do you expect me to when…" "If you don't calm down, then I doubt we'll ever think of a way to get out of here!" Jaden exclaimed a bit impatiently.

It was then I realized he had a point there. Panicking wouldn't do us any good… It was easier to breathe by now.

"Sorry." I said simply. "Just chill out, so we can think of a way to get out of here." He smiled. I nodded and quickly looked around. It was a big room with the boiler next to the furthest wall… There was even a small bench in there, and a small table. There were a lot of white papers on the latter, with a small pen.

I walked towards the table curiously. The moment I looked at the pen and papers, and idea formed in my mind. "At least we have a way out of here." I sighed in relief, making Jaden give me a curious look. "If we write on the paper that we're locked up inside, and leave it in front of the door, maybe someone will see it." I spoke up while taking the pen in my hands.

"That sounds like a good idea." He said simply. I took a nearby paper and wrote 'we're locked inside the boiler room' on it. I then did the same with a few more papers. After taking them in my hands, I walked to the door and slid them under. "Let's just hope someone will see them." I then let out a sigh. "All we can do is wait." Jaden sat on the bench. Not knowing what to do, I sat down as well.

My eyes widened once the guy suddenly took off his red blazer. He began taking off his shirt, and I could clearly see some parts of his chest, when… "What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed and quickly covered my eyes in panic. My heart was beating like crazy, and I could _feel_ my face turning red from embarrassment!

First, I walked in on Syrus and Hassleberry naked, and now Jaden was taking off his shirt… What was it with me running into naked guys?!

"It's getting really hot in here. I can't stand it with long sleeves." I could hear him explaining as I turned away on purpose. "You could have given me a warning." I replied sharply with hands still over my eyes. "What's the big deal? I mean, guys doing it is not so bad as for girls…" "Some girls might be embarrassed nonetheless!" I retorted. "If it's such a big deal to you, then I'll turn my back. Is that fine?" I could hear him asking with a groan. "Deal." I replied immediately.

I turned my back as well. I then took hands off my eyes. And there we were, sitting on one bench with backs turned to each other. It was a rather awkward silence for five minutes, or so.

"You had said your parents were from Italy?" Jaden suddenly spoke up. "Yes… Why?" I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was asking me that. "Just curious. It's also a bit weird, since Japan is not so close to Italy." "Well, both of them grew up in Rome. They moved to Japan because of better work conditions." I explained coldly.

"What about Ben?" He asked curiously. "His mum is from Forli, a place in Italy. His father is my dad's older brother. They moved to California because of her job. Ben spent most of his time there." I folded my arms. "What about your parents?" I then asked with a frown. "My dad's from Domino City, while my mum moved there when she was twenty five." "Where is she from?" I wondered.

Seeing we were stuck here with each other; I might as well spend it in a productive way… By getting to know another person stuck with me. Silence was literally going to be the end of me if I didn't say something!

"Both of her parents were Japanese. Mum used to live in Nagasaki." The guy replied casually. "My dad has a bit of French and Irish heritage from his parents. That also explains my hair, as Irish are known for their red hair." I then spoke up, playing with one of my strands.

"Ever been there?" "No," I shook my head. "The furthest I've been in Europe is Italy." "I heard a lot of things about Italy, but never got to see it." Jaden replied in a relaxed tone. "Such as?" I asked curiously. "My parents know a lot about stereotypes, so I got to hear some about Italians. Something about them being terrible drivers, mobsters, eating pasta every day, and being huge fans of football…"

A frown appeared on my face. There they were, those stupid stereotypes…

"But they also told me not to mention them in front of Italians, so sorry." Jaden then let out a sheepish laugh. "Just don't mention them again, and we're fine." I waved it off. "Especially since they're not true. Most of them, anyway." I then added. "My parents said so too." "They seem to be well informed…" I noted. "They like meeting different people." The guy shrugged.

I turned my head a bit to look at him, and fought back a gasp. I had forgot his upper part was naked (stupid of me), so I could see his back clearly. There were two white, thin lines running across the back. They weren't _that much _noticeable, but they weren't invisible either. While I wasn't sure what that was supposed to be, it looked like scars to me… And even though I briefly looked at his back before turning away, that picture didn't leave my mind.

Whatever that was, I hoped he didn't figure out I had seen it…

Suddenly, the door opened, making us jump up with yelps. We looked in the direction of the door. "Who locked you two in here?!" Dorothy asked us in surprise at the entrance. "Chazz/Princeton." Jaden and I chorused, just as the former put the blazer over his shirt.

A frown appeared on the woman's face. "Thanks, Dorothy!" Jaden exclaimed as he ran out. "Thank you!" I added and ran out as well. "Wait," She suddenly stopped me from running after Jaden. The guy stopped running as well, seeing what the woman had done. "If I remember well, you're Ben's cousin?" She asked.

"Yes?" I asked in confusion. "I'm sorry about what…" She started, and suddenly stopped. I tilted my head in confusion. What was she talking about? "Look," She finally spoke up, looking at me. "Take these newspapers, and read them when you're able to." She offered them to me. "Okay… And thank you, I guess." I nodded, still confused why I was supposed to read those newspapers.

"Serena, we're going to miss the duel!" Jaden reminded. "Oh, yeah! Hopefully Alexis won!" I exclaimed and ran after him towards the arena.

* * *

By the time we ran inside, everyone was gathered around the platform. Alexis and Chazz were standing on it, looking at each other. "Don't tell me the duel is already over!" Jaden pleaded just as we joined them. "Where have you two been, Sarge?" Hassleberry demanded.

"Why don't you ask Princeton?" I asked while glaring at the black-haired guy. "Me? I didn't do anything." He pretended to be innocent. "Don't lie, you locked us up in the boiler room!" I pointed a finger at him accusingly. "It's true." Jaden nodded. "Shut your mouth, both of you!" Alexis suddenly shouted angrily.

My eyes widened in surprise. The others were looking at her in astonishment. "Lex, even if you lost, you still…" Atticus was cut off. "You don't get it, do you?! _I'm _glad that I lost! It opened my eyes to the truth…" The girl smiled smugly before looking at Chazz. "Thank you, I'm ready to join the Society Of Light."

_What_… Did that mean she was with them now?! How did that duel go while we were locked up in that boiler room?!

"It's your destiny… _Our _destiny!" Another, familiar voice quickly made me turn around.

_Ben _was walking towards us. However, instead of his Obelisk Blue uniform, he was dressed in a white one like Chazz. A smug smile was on his face. "Ben, this isn't time for joking." I frowned while walking up to him, about to put a hand on his shoulder...

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" My cousin suddenly roared at me, pushing me away violently. I landed on the ground with my back harshly. I let out a cry of pain, seeing I had hit my back pretty badly. "Ben, what's got into you?!" Bastion asked incredulously while Jaden offered me a hand. I took it and he helped me up.

At the same time, I was trying to process what had just happened. Ben… My own cousin just pushed me like that, as if I were something disgusting… He _never _did that… I felt like I was stabbed by something. What he just did hurt a lot, and not just in a physical way, but emotionally too… It hurt me to think of the way he had looked at me with such disgust…

"I don't want that wench anywhere near me." Ben growled, his green eyes shooting daggers at me. His face was filled with this rage I had never seen before… Him calling me a 'wench' felt like being stabbed by hundreds of knives. "Ben, what happened to you?" I managed to speak up while trembling.

"I thankfully got to my senses…" My cousin trailed off with a smug smile. I tried to walk up to him, only to be pushed away again. Luckily, this time, Bastion and Jaden caught me. "Don't come near me…" He threatened with a growl. "Ben, this isn't funny!" Syrus shouted with a look of fear on his face. "Quit it, soldier!" Hassleberry agreed. Atticus and those girls were staring at my cousin in shock.

"I just did. Master Sartorius helped me see the Light…" Ben sneered. "Now, it's only a matter of time until all of you realize the truth." Chazz said smugly as Ben walked up to him and Alexis.

No matter what just happened, I still couldn't take it in. Ben couldn't be with that society now, he just couldn't!

"Ben, please tell me this is all one of your jokes…" I pleaded. Except he didn't do so. In fact, he didn't even look at me. "Keep that wench far away from me." He growled and strode towards the exit. Chazz and Alexis followed him outside without another word.

The rest of us were staring at the exit of the arena.

It was then it finally hit me. My own cousin had just hurt me, and called me a wench… He didn't even want to look at me…

Tears started brimming in my eyes. Before I knew it, they started streaming down my cheeks. I started shaking uncontrollably. Not wanting the others to see me like this, I ran out of the arena while sobbing. I couldn't stop the tears from coming out, nor did I want to. The only thing that was on my mind right now was how Ben had just treated me…

* * *

I slammed the door of the room and threw the newspapers on bed. I jumped on it too, not even bothering to brush tears off my cheeks. My face must have been red by now from all the crying. I knew Dorothy told me to read those newspapers, but, right now, I didn't feel like it…

My eyes briefly went over the newspapers before widening. A huge title was on them, saying _'Missing Workers From Industrial Illusions'_.

I quickly grabbed them and looked at the front page. I just wanted to make sure at least Aunt Maria was alright with everything going on…

My heart dropped once I got to the list of missing people. _Maria Accardi _was written there… By now, I wanted to scream. Feelings of panic and shock overwhelmed me, and I hoped at least Uncle Luca would be able to tell me those were lies…

Without another word, I grabbed my phone. I dialed Uncle's phone number and stood there, waiting. I couldn't even stand still, so I was pacing back and forth. "Uncle Luca, please answer…" I pleaded quietly in panic. After a minute, he finally did.

"_Hello?" _He sounded like he had been crying… "Uncle Luca, please don't tell me the news are true. Please tell me Aunt Maria is with you right now." I told him pleadingly, trying not to lose it. He never answered it with words. Instead, he started sobbing, hanging up in process.

I stood there, clenching the phone in my right hand tightly. Everything slowly sank in. Aunt Maria really disappeared along with those people in that mysterious incident… And the last time we talked to each other; we had an argument…

As I sat on my bed, tears started streaming down my cheeks yet again. At that moment, I'd never felt so alone… My parents and Uncle were still there, but I wasn't as close to them as to Ben, Sarina, Sartorius and Aunt Maria. A_ll of them _were gone. Three of them went missing, and one didn't even want to look at me…

"_Whenever you have a problem, you can talk to me." Sarina smiled at me._

"_A person can't function properly if they're always by themselves." Sartorius gave me a disapproving look._

"_Anything for my niece." "Thank you, Aunt Maria!" I squealed and hugged my aunt._

"_I love you, Ben. I'm sorry I don't say it so often…" I smiled and hugged my cousin. "I love you too, cuzo." He hugged me back._

That was it. I couldn't take anymore. I brought knees closer to me and started sobbing uncontrollably...

**Well, that's the end of this chapter! Again, one of first turning points in the story…**

**Words in Italian:**

**Buongiorno- good morning/afternoon;**

**purtroppo-unfortunately.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	20. Who Are You?

**Cra****zyQuilava: Thank you for reviewing! :) I don't want to spoil anything, so we'll just have to see what happens…. ;) Thank you! I'm not really experienced in playing Yugioh, so hearing people saying my duels are good means a lot to me! Thanks, stay safe and wash your hands too! ;)**

**Well, it's about time this chapter arrived. Originally, I was planning to do the episode with Lorenzo today instead. However, I figured Serena couldn't do anything there. Her meeting a fellow Italian would have been nice… It just wouldn't fit my plans for the story though. Besides, I think it's about time Serena stopped being in the dark about some things…**

**So, here it goes! This chapter takes place during 'Source Of Strength'. **

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Dear, can you come over here?" A woman asked. "Coming, Auntie!" The girl's voice exclaimed. "Who… Who are you?" It then asked in surprise. "Serena, manners." The woman reminded in a scolding tone. "Sorry, Auntie." The girl apologized in embarrassment. "Leave it be. She's just a little girl." Another woman's voice spoke up gently. "She still needs to show some manners, or else she won't learn them." The first woman replied firmly._

"_These people are my friends, dear," She then said. "They'll look after you from now on." "Mama and Papa won't come home?" The girl asked on the verge of tears. "They're quite busy, sweetie. And I can't look after you anymore. Luca and Ben are waiting for me in California." "But I don't want you to go!" The girl cried._

"_Sorry, but I have to." It was silent for a few moments. "How about I introduce you to my friends? Trust me, you'll like them!" She then whispered. "Auntie, I'm scared. I don't even know those people!" The girl replied, only for the woman to shush her due to her loud tone. "Please just come with me." "But…" "Please, Serena." The woman repeated. "Fine…" The girl sighed._

_After other few moments of silence, the woman spoke up. "I'd like to introduce you to my niece. Go on, dear." "I'm Serena." The girl spoke up shyly. "Serena." Another woman repeated. "That's a pretty name." "Quite similar to hers, in fact." The first woman pointed out with a chuckle. "Really?" The girl asked in surprise. _

"_Yes." The other woman chuckled. "What's your name then?" The girl asked curiously. "Sarina." She introduced herself. "Oh..." The girl trailed off before laughing. Two women joined her in laughter. "There's no need to be nervous. Come over here." The first woman suddenly told someone encouragingly. "Who's that?" The girl asked. "That's my older brother." The second woman replied gently. _

Sun rays were shining into the room through the open window. I was sitting on the bed and looking at the picture in my hands. It showed Ben and me when we were both eleven. Both of us were smiling at the camera.

I let out a sigh and brushed off brimming tears from my eyes. This picture was taken back when my cousin didn't hate me…

It's been two days since most of the Obelisk Blue dorm joined this 'Society Of Light'. Ben and Alexis were among those people. Since then, Ben had started acting rude to me. He didn't call me 'cuzo', or 'cugina' anymore. Instead, those words were replaced with 'wench' or 'wretch'. Every time I would try to come closer to him, he'd either push me away violently or start shouting at me to get away from him. Whenever I tried to talk to him, he ignored me. He even moved out of the Slifer Red dorm. I tried to talk to him yesterday again, which ended unsuccessfully.

I had a huge bruise on my back by now. Yesterday, Mrs. Fontaine said I was damn lucky I didn't break anything during that fall. That meant Ben had pushed me with full intention of causing me actual harm…

Knowing that hurt… Two days ago, we were hugging each other, and now, he was looking at me as if I were his worst enemy! What could have caused him to change so much in such short time?! Benjamin I knew hated white, yet was now wearing only that… Benjamin I knew was kind, considerate, not angry or violent…

Seeing how I could have got even worse damage, I decided to stay away from my cousin for a while. There was no point in going after him if he was only going to hurt you… Then I really wouldn't be able to do anything! However, that didn't stop me from worrying. From what I had figured out, all members of that society lost their duels and then joined it, but I hadn't seen Ben dueling at all… He had said he'd go check out that day's headlines! What could have happened during that time?

Without Ben around, I started feeling rather lonely. I still wasn't over his behavior, nor could I forget about what happened to Aunt Maria… I was feeling rather lost and helpless all of a sudden. Usually, at least someone would be there to guide me, or help me… Now there was no one. Uncle Luca was most probably in depression since he didn't answer my calls. Even though I didn't count much on my parents, I tried calling them. They told me they were extremely busy and that they had no time for nonsense. It made me feel rather bitter…

Aunt Maria was missing, and Ben was acting strange… And they referred to it as nonsense?! Actually, they didn't make it clear what exactly they were referring to, but it was obviously one of those two things.

"If I were Sarina and Sartorius, what would I say to my problem?" I then asked myself aloud while putting the picture away.

Standing up, I started pacing in the room back and forth. I was trying to imagine what those two would say at the current situation I was in. Whenever I had a problem, they usually gave… _Used to give_ best and most reasonable advice. However, I had no luck in thinking about what they'd say. I guessed it simply wasn't my day, since I usually had no problems like this. That, or not seeing those two for more than a year did its work…

Suddenly, I could hear knocking on the door. I yelped in surprise and jumped back a bit. After a few moments, I sighed in relief and went to open it. I was greeted with Jaden and Syrus looking at me from outside. "Hey, Serena." The former greeted with a smile. "Hey." I responded simply, not knowing what else to say.

Ever since Ben started acting weird, I've pretty much avoided talking to other people. That way I could grieve in peace…

"How are you doing?" Syrus asked me with a sympathetic look. "Why?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "We heard about what happened to your aunt." Jaden explained. "We also didn't forget about Ben's behavior." The short guy added. I was looking between them back and forth for a few moments.

I haven't talked to anybody for two days (Ben's behavior didn't count, since he ignored me), and those two were wondering whether I was alright… One part of me thought about how they probably had better business than to snoop into my personal problems… But the other one thought how it was a kind gesture. I just couldn't treat them badly after they had showed worry for me… Even though I didn't understand why they were worrying. I wasn't exactly friends with them, no matter what Jaden thought…

"Fine, I guess." I finally responded with a shrug. "I'm sure they'll find out about what happened at the Industrial Illusions." Syrus said reassuringly. "Hopefully." I commented coldly. "Anyway," Jaden spoke up. "We were wondering if you'd like to keep us company to the shop?"

I stared at him for a few moments. "Why are you going there?" I asked shortly. "Jaden says the Golden Gen finally laid an egg after a few weeks. He wants to try to get the Golden Eggwich." Syrus briefly explained with a sigh.

At the mention of the Golden Eggwich, my stomach started growling. I had to admit, I hadn't eaten much since what happened with Ben and Aunt Maria… Now I was so hungry I could eat a horse!

"Besides, a bit of fresh air would do you some good." Jaden added cheerfully. "What makes you think that?" I gave him a questioning look. "It's obvious you're upset about Ben and your aunt, that's why." Syrus responded instead. "While what's happening with Obelisk Blue _is _worrying, there's no point in sulking or feeling bad all day. You have to lift your spirits." The brown-haired guy added.

His positive attitude never ceased to surprise me…

I kept looking at them. As much as I had this urge to stay and keep being depressed, I knew that wasn't exactly a solution to my problems… It was just that, with Ben and Aunt Maria gone now, I've been feeling rather lonely. A feeling that was very familiar to me…

"_A person can't function properly if they're always by themselves." _Those words were echoing in my head. Sartorius definitely had a point when he said them. Here I was, feeling lonely yet again due to certain circumstances. Sometimes, when I was alone, I felt like silence would eventually lead me into insanity. He was definitely right; I was just too dumb to realize it back then… There was no point in trying to stay away from _Duel Monsters _lovers if I ended up alone. It just _wasn't _worth it.

Seeing Ben wasn't willing to talk to me, I had to talk to at least someone here. Since Jaden and Syrus were so nice to me, I finally made my decision. I decided to suck it up and go with them to that shop. They may have liked something I hated, but I couldn't ignore them completely because of that! It was as if Ben decided to ignore me just because I was so obsessed with nature…

By now, I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep ignoring those people because of my parents isolating me as a kid… That feeling of hatred and revenge felt nice and _satisfying _at times… But if I kept doing it, I'd be completely alone. Now that people I cared about were gone, I was desperate not to end up like before; lonely… I _couldn't _let it happen! It was one of worst feelings in the world. I _wouldn't _let it appear in my life again.

"Fine, why not?" I finally spoke up with a shrug. "Then let's hit it!" Jaden cheered while Syrus let out a small smile. I put on my boots and closed the door. We then started running towards the main building.

If I ever saw Sartorius again, I owed him an apology for being such a freaking idiot… It was advices like this that always got me out of trouble!

* * *

"Remind me, is the shop open this early?" Syrus asked while were walking through the building. "It's supposed to be. Dorothy usually wakes up earlier than others." Jaden replied. "How long does the shop work anyway?" I asked curiously.

Not that its working time really mattered to me right now, I just wanted to say _something_…

"Until eight, I think." Syrus explained. "Oh." I simply nodded in understanding. "_Veo, veo, que ves…_" I then sang to myself quietly, not knowing what else to say. "_Una cosita, y que cosita es? Empieza con la 'A'… Que será, que será, que será…_"

"Is that Italian?" Jaden's sudden question brought me back to reality. I looked up with a yelp. "No, it's Spanish." I quickly said. "You know Spanish too?" Syrus asked in surprise. I shook my head. "Only basics, and from songs like this one. Aunt Maria used to sing them to me when I was little." I explained. "Ben and Aunt, on the other hand, speak it fluently." I then added.

"Ben never said that." Jaden looked at Syrus questioningly. The latter shook his head. "He most probably didn't in order not to have all of you confused. Italian and Spanish are similar languages, since they come from same group." I stated. "Really?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head. I nodded. "I can understand some things in Spanish thanks to Italian, and in French. All of them have both their similarities and differences." "Bonaparte literally meant it when he said you were neighbors." Syrus pointed out in realization. "Pretty much, yes." I rolled my eyes.

Finally, we walked into the card shop. The moment that happened, Jaden ran to the cart filled with draw bread. "Jay, slow down!" Syrus ran after him. I walked up to the cart as well. While Jaden took ton of them in his hands, I took three of them. Hopefully, that would be enough to calm my appetite…

"Well, I'm not surprised you're the first customer." A female voice spoke up in amusement. We turned around to see Dorothy walking up to us. "I have to try to get that Golden Eggwich!" Jaden responded simply and dropped the draw bread into the cart. He started looking through it. Dorothy let out a laugh while I walked up to her with three sandwiches. "How much do three of those cost?" I asked her.

She told me the price and I immediately paid for them. "You're trying to find Golden Eggwich too?" The woman then guessed. I shook my head. "I just want to eat because I'm extremely hungry." I explained. "_Three _sandwiches?" Syrus was staring at me in surprise. I could feel a bit of red appearing on my cheeks. If he said it in such way, then that meant I took more than an average person was supposed to for one meal…

However, right now, I _didn't _give a damn. The only thing that mattered was not being hungry anymore.

"I haven't eaten much for those two days." I said after clearing my throat. "Oh." Syrus nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry about what happened." Dorothy told me sincerely. "Thank you." I simply nodded to her. "Hopefully they'll be able to find them…" I then trailed off while looking at sandwiches in my hands.

"That's what I told Ben as well. However, he didn't react to my words at all." Dorothy frowned. "What?" I asked surprised. By now, Jaden, Syrus and I were staring at her. "He walked in this morning to check out today's newspapers. For some reason, he was completely dressed in white." She explained a bit confused.

Honestly, I was surprised. Ben had changed so much for those two days, but he still came here to see newspapers? That was something he had done before entering that society… And that didn't change? It was quite weird…

"When I told him that, he completely ignored my words and walked out." Dorothy then said. "Any idea what happened to make him act so unusual?" She then asked curiously. "He apparently joined this organization called 'the Society Of Light' along with Chazz and Alexis." Syrus let out a sigh. "That's why all of them are wearing white?" Dorothy presumed. "Yes." I nodded.

That was when I decided to walk over to the newspaper stand. I quickly took some newspapers and started looking through them. Unfortunately, there was nothing new concerning _Industrial Illusions_.

By the time I turned around, Jaden was buying two bags of sandwiches. He spent all that money just to get that Golden Eggwich… He surely had guts. My parents would never allow me to buy so much because of one sandwich, no matter how delicious it was. They'd claim how it was a waste of money.

"Serena, are you coming?" Jaden asked while taking one bag in his arms. Syrus took the other one. I shook my head. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you as soon as I check all newspapers." I told them. "Fine." The two guys chorused and started walking out. "The newest ones are at the top." Dorothy told me. "Thanks." I nodded. She smiled before walking out as well.

I just had to see whether there was at least something new in any of those newspapers…

By the time I looked through all of them, my hope for good news vanished. There was absolutely nothing new in here… I would just have to come back every day to keep up with the news. I made it my mission to check every newspaper that day. Hopefully, looking for good news would also help me stay sane…

That was when my stomach started growling yet again. It was then I realized I still hadn't eaten those sandwiches. I quickly unwrapped one and started eating it. It had bacon and an egg inside… And it was delicious!

Seeing I ate fast, I was soon done with it. I then unwrapped the second one and started eating it on my way outside the shop.

* * *

By the time I finished eating all three of them, I was in front of the Slifer Red dorm.

Jaden, Syrus, Hassleberry and Dorothy were talking between themselves. Once I got closer, I noticed Hassleberry had a Duel Disk strapped to his arm. "Serena, you won't believe us what just happened!" Jaden then said, being the first one to notice me walking up to them. The other three turned around as well.

Suddenly, Pharaoh walked up to me. It looked like the cat was in a rather bad mood about something… Didn't know what got him so upset. I kneeled down to pet it, only for the cat to jump into my arms. Letting out a small chuckle, I stood up.

"Try me." I then told them while petting the cat. I could hear him purring, which meant he finally calmed down. I had to admit, I was a bit curious what Jaden was talking about… "Hassleberry just had a duel with Aster Phoenix's manager!" Syrus exclaimed. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Aster Phoenix's manager? What was he doing here? Who was that in the first place? I didn't know professional duelists _even_ _had _managers…

"And who won?" I asked. "Mr. Tall, Pale and Gruesome, unfortunately." Hassleberry rolled his eyes. "Gruesome?" I raised an eyebrow at his description of the unknown man. Unknown _to me_, actually, since I didn't get to see that duel… "Yes, gruesome!"

"Isn't that a bit insulting?" I questioned with a sigh, this time playing with one of Pharaoh's ears. "Well, you should have seen what he looked like. You'd have changed your mind instantly." Hassleberry frowned at me. "He's right, that man looked so scary…" Syrus trailed off. "I've never seen anyone like him." Dorothy spoke up.

Looking at all of them, I realized this 'gruesome' man really left an impression. "Fine, what makes him so gruesome?" I decided to bite. "His skin was as white as a bone." Jaden spoke up. "And his eyes looked scary…" Syrus added. "Not to mention his whole appearance and those weird spinning cards!" Hassleberry added.

I was looking at them in a bit of surprise. Spinning cards? What in the world was he talking about?!

"Thankfully you weren't brainwashed too." Jaden then told Hassleberry who nodded. "If that creep shows around here again, he'll see!" He declared firmly. "Wait, how come you're not in that society if you lost?" I asked him confused.

"It's thanks to my Dino DNA." He responded with a proud look. "Dino DNA?" I raised an eyebrow perplexed. "Hassleberry had an incident while digging in which he nearly broke his leg in two. In order to save it, the doctors replaced the broken bone with a dinosaur one he had found earlier." Jaden briefly explained while the guy lifted up his left trouser leg.

I looked down at it curiously. A scar was across a part of his leg… The whole story sounded quite interesting too… "Good to know you're still sane." I looked up at him. "Agree, soldier." The guy nodded with a smirk.

I still didn't understand what business Aster Phoenix's manager had with this society… Nor did I have time to think about it because I looked up and gasped. The door to my room were left wide open… How come I hadn't noticed it earlier?!

"Did one of you enter my room?" I quickly asked them while still gaping. "No." Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry shook their heads. "I think they had been open before I had a duel with that creep…" Hassleberry rubbed the back of his head.

Without another word, put down the cat and raced to the room.

Once I was at the door, my jaw dropped to the floor. My bed was in complete mess, with pillow lying over the disorganized sheets. The door of the wardrobe was wide open. Someone must have been snooping through my room…

A quiet growl escaped from my mouth as I quickly took off my boots and threw them inside. Normally, I would have put them away, but right now, my blood was boiling so much… Whoever that was, _how dare they _invade my privacy?! Didn't they have decency to know that was just rude?!

I quickly walked over to my table. To my even bigger fury, the herbarium and album were lying there wide open…

"Why in the world doesn't this Academy have room keys?!" I screeched furiously. I was so angry right now, that I was probably near to losing it… I quickly took the herbarium to see on what page it was. Jasmines were lying on it. Those were the same ones I had found when my parents forced me to go to the Academy…

I closed the herbarium with a glare and put it on the table. Grabbing the album, I stopped to look at what page it was on. Even more anger washed over me once I saw it. That was the page with pictures of Ben and me as kids, Aunt and Uncle, Sarina reading me a book and Sartorius spinning four-year-old me around in the air.

By now, I felt like someone had literally ruined all of my privacy. This album couldn't be a personal thing if someone just looked through it without asking me… What gave them the right to do so?! What gave them the right to snoop through my personal life?!

"If I ever find out who did this," I started while shaking from anger. "I'll make sure they _pay_." That was when the pillow on the bed caught my attention. With a feeling of dread washing over me, I raced to it. I was hoping it wasn't what I thought it was…

However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find it. It wasn't under the pillow where I usually kept it. It wasn't even on the bed… Whoever that person was, they took Sartorius' tarot card without even asking me… "You're so done for once I get my hands on you, Mister Gruesome." I growled while curling my hands into fists.

I didn't believe any student did this. Nothing had happened before, and I believed at least they had decency to respect someone's privacy… It must have been Aster Phoenix's manager.

"Serena, what happened?" Syrus asked once he, Jaden and Hassleberry were at the entrance of my room. "Someone was snooping through my things. They even stole something from me." I responded while folding my arms. "It must have been Mister Gruesome." Hassleberry declared. "I think so too." I nodded while getting off the bed.

"What makes you think that?" Jaden asked him. "He was literally sitting in front of me on a chair once I fell off my bed! He even asked me whether that was your room." The guy replied. "Really?" The brown-haired guy asked in surprise. Hassleberry nodded.

If that man had the audacity to walk into someone's room uninvited, then I was sure he was the one snooping through my room… There was no doubt anymore.

"There you are!" Bastion's voice made all of us turn around. The Ra Yellow student ran to the room's entrance. "Haven't you heard the news?" He asked. "What news?" Syrus wondered. "Crowler told all students to come to the main classroom right away." The British guy explained. "Why? We're not supposed to have any classes today." Jaden pointed out. "No one knows." Bastion replied.

"Fine…" We chorused with sighs. After I had put on my boots, I ran with the guys towards the main building.

* * *

Once I entered the classroom, I looked around. Ben was sitting with Alexis and Chazz in the left, sixth row. Once he saw me looking at him, he glared at me. I quickly looked away with a sigh. I used to sit next to my cousin, but it was obvious I couldn't do that anymore…

"Serena, what's wrong?" I looked up to see Jaden walking up to me. "Nothing," I quickly shook my head. "It's just that… I usually sit next to Ben, but that obviously won't be the case anymore…." I then trailed off while glancing at Ben's sitting form. Right now, he, Chazz and Alexis were whispering something to each other.

A small smile appeared on Jaden's face. "Then come sit with us." He suggested. "You don't mind?" I asked in slight surprise. "Why would I?" He gave me a questioning look. "It doesn't matter. If it's alright with your friends, then lead the way." I quickly said.

With a grin on his face, Jaden grabbed my left hand. He started leading me towards the center, fifth row. Bastion, Hassleberry and Syrus were already sitting there. "Guys, could you make some room so Serena could sit with us?" The brown-haired guy asked. The three of them looked at each other before looking at two of us.

"Sure." Syrus nodded. Bastion nodded as well, but without saying anything. "Why not?" Hassleberry asked. The three of them then moved for one seat. Jaden sat in a seat next to Syrus. I sat in the one right next to Jaden quietly.

A small feeling of pleasure washed over me. While I wasn't friends with any of them, I definitely wasn't alone like this… That was all that mattered.

"What do you think this is all about?" Syrus then spoke up. "Your guess is as good as mine." Jaden shrugged. "Crowler could have been a bit clearer about what on Earth is happening…" Bastion spoke up with his arms folded. "Agree." Hassleberry nodded.

Just as he said that, Crowler walked through the right door of the room. He was holding a microphone in his hands.

"_Settle down, students!"_ He said through it, instantly silencing everyone in the room. "_I have an important announcement to make, so pay attention!" _My eyebrows furrowed in thought. We were here just for an announcement? What could have been so important not to wait until tomorrow?

"_A new student has joined us. Now, make friends with him and play nicely!"_ Crowler continued talking through the microphone. "Come on… What does he think, that we're in first grade?" Jaden asked quietly in amusement from my right. "Actually, one of us _is_." I looked up to see Hassleberry smirking. "I'm gonna ignore that!" Syrus frowned at him, making the taller guy laugh.

A smirk appeared on Bastion's face after hearing their words. I, on the other hand, looked up. I just wanted to see who the new student was and get over with this. The sooner Crowler introduced him to us, the sooner we could get out of this classroom…

"_I give you Duel Academy's newest pupil!" _Crowler suddenly pointed at the left door. The door opened. Someone walked out, closing the door behind in process. Finally, my eyes landed on the student approaching Crowler.

My eyes widened once I saw familiar, long, dark blue hair. That detail alone made me realize who this person was.

Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe at all. Hell, I felt like I couldn't even move! It was as if every part of me froze. I couldn't even think properly at the moment…

"But that's…" "I can't believe it." "What?" I could hear others next to me saying something. _"Sartorius will be entering as a first-year student!" _Crowler declared as the man finally looked up.

That was when the screen turned on, showing the man's face. I looked up at it in utter astonishment. At that moment, I should have been feeling happy, but…. I wasn't. Instead, I was feeling even more shock, and some nervousness.

It may have been more than a year since I've last seen Sartorius… But, right now, looking at him didn't feel like it was the same person. It was as if I were looking at a doppelganger instead… I couldn't figure out why at that moment, it just did!

"_He's a bit older than our average freshman, but he's an eager learner! And our evaluation committee has determined that he has great potential!" _Crowler continued his speech.

However, I zoned out immediately after those words. I kept looking at the face on the monitor until it suddenly turned off. Seeing students were slowly getting out, I realized we were dismissed.

Finally, I was able to get a bit back to my senses. I was still feeling shocked, but I had no time for that right now. My eyes landed on Sartorius who was currently talking to Crowler. At that moment, a plan formed in my mind.

I had to see whether that was truly Sartorius or not. I mean, Crowler introduced him of course, but something just didn't feel right there. My guts were telling me so, and I couldn't ignore it…

Before guys could ask me anything, I raced outside the classroom. I quickly hid behind a nearest wall and kept watching the students passing. I was waiting for the right moment…

Finally, after five minutes, I could see Sartorius walking through the hallway past me. I started walking after him at distance, trying to see where I could talk to him alone. To my surprise, he walked out of the main building. It looked like he was going towards the forest.

A sigh of relief escaped from my mouth. No one would go into the forest, which meant no one could interrupt me… Thankfully, Sartorius never turned around to see whether someone was following him.

By now, we were on a clearing inside the forest. It was away from the main building, and from other dormitories. I finally decided to grab the chance, despite my huge nervousness.

"Sartorius!" I exclaimed. The moment those words came out of my mouth, the man stopped walking. "Is that you?" I then asked. There was no answer for a few moments. I bit my lip nervously, not even knowing why I was doing that.

This person has looked after me since I was four. This was the person who's been there for me more than my own father ever has… There was no need to act anxious!

"I knew you'd follow me right here." A cold voice spoke up, making shivers run down my spine. Finally, he turned around. I took that moment to observe him more closely. He was dressed in what seemed to be Obelisk Blue uniform, with the blazer going down until his feet. Along with the blazer were dark trousers and long, white boots. A grey box was around his right leg.

That was when I realized why looking at Sartorius felt like looking at a completely different person. I finally realized what my guts were trying to tell me.

There was this strange smile on the man's face I had never seen before. It looked somewhat smug… Then his voice. There was something cold, almost icy about it. I had never heard it coming from him… Looking up at the man yet again, another detail dawned on me. I quickly lifted up my pale, yet freckled arm while looking at him.

Sartorius' skin was as pale as a bone, even paler than _mine_. From what I remembered, that _didn't _use to be the case… Having such pale skin was unnatural, or unhealthy. One last detail I noticed was his eyes. There was something weird about them, I just couldn't figure out exactly what at that moment…

All in all, with those differences, it truly felt like I was looking at someone else instead. However, I tried to ignore them for now. I had to say something! Besides, I had to ask myself whether those differences really mattered at that moment. I finally saw Sartorius after more than a year after all!

"I can't believe it's really you." I finally spoke up with a smile. I was trying to reassure myself how my doubts were about to go away as soon as I hugged him…

"Do you have any idea how much Aunt Maria and I were worried?!" I then demanded. Without a second thought, I ran up to the man and hugged him… Only to suddenly be pushed away rather harshly. I looked up in utter astonishment. "_Don't _touch me." He hissed with a glare.

A pang of hurt washed over me. Sartorius _never _pushed me away in such manner…

"Where have you been all this time? And where's Sarina?" I then demanded, trying to ignore feelings of hurt welling up inside me. "That is _none _of your concern." Sartorius replied coldly.

I stayed quiet for a few moments. Wind started blowing around us. I was looking into the man's cold purple eyes, which were looking right back at me.

At that moment, I was just trying to piece everything together. Sarina and Sartorius may not have been my family, but they definitely felt like one to me. After all those years of them looking after me, I've grown to care about them as if they were my parents… They've done more things for me than my own ones ever had. So why was Sartorius so harsh to me now? What did I do to deserve such harsh treatment from someone I looked up to as a father?

"Why are you acting like this? Do you have any idea how much I missed you and Sarina?!" I asked while trying to prevent tears from brimming in my eyes. The response I got was a cold look from the man. It only made me feel even worse…

"Master Sartorius!" A voice suddenly shouted. Feelings of shock washed over me. "Master Sartorius? What in the world are they talking about?!" I shouted to the man who simply smiled smugly. Ben ran up to him.

"Master Sartorius, what are you doing with that wretch?!" My cousin asked while glaring at me. "Calm down, Benjamin. I'll handle this on my own." Sartorius told him, much to my disbelief. He was perfectly fine with Ben calling me that… "Tell the other members of the Society Of Light I'll be there soon." With a simple nod, Ben ran out of the forest.

I let out a deep breath, trying to process everything. If they called him 'Master Sartorius', then that meant he must have been the one behind this 'Light' thing… Five minutes ago, I would have found it hard to believe in that. It was still hard, but not impossible after the way Sartorius had just treated me… He was completely fine with Ben treating me like this as well?! He was completely fine with Ben acting so unlike him?! I was feeling like everything I knew was falling apart…

"Does this mean you're behind what happened to Ben, Alexis, Chazz and the others?!" I demanded with a frown. "I haven't done a thing to them. They chose to join my society with their own free will." Sartorius replied calmly. "Society filled with aggressive people obsessed with light?! What's got into all of you?!" I shouted incredulously.

"They saw the truth, that's what happened." He was still calm as if what had just happened was no big deal. "Sartorius, what happened to you?" I asked a bit more quietly now. "Why are you looking at me with such pitiful eyes?" He frowned at me instead, completely ignoring my question. "I'm just worr…." "I _don't care _about what you think!" He growled at me, making me feel even worse.

The man then walked up to me. I could see some white-dressed students looking at us from behind nearby trees. "If you know what's good for you, then you'll stay away from me. Consider this a warning." He whispered in my right ear, making shivers run down my spine. At that moment, I didn't have courage to look him in the eyes. I just couldn't…

After those words, Sartorius started walking away from me. The rest of the students walked after him.

I was looking at his disappearing form. He had just _threatened _me…

Finally, everything I knew finally crumbled. I wasn't sure what to think about this anymore. I had been feeling lost before, but now it was even worse… I was feeling lost, and hurt.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks.

**Well, about time Sartorius himself arrived! Took him, I think, 11 chapters? I've been looking forward to writing this chapter pretty much since the story started. I kind of feel bad for doing this to Serena… But it's necessary for the story! Besides, it's about time she found out he's the one behind this, she literally found it out at the last moment while everyone else already knew. Things should start getting interesting soon, I'm looking forward to them… **

**The song Serena was singing to herself is actually a famous Spanish song for kids in case anyone's wondering. The reason she sang it to herself is to remember good memories with her aunt. Maria knows that language because her paternal grandmother was Spanish, so she learned it from her father.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	21. Contemplation

**News Boss****: Thank you for sharing that information! :) I knew about that song while growing up, and I'm still rather fond of it, but I never knew it was more than that… :)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! Yup, Serena is pretty much shocked… And conflicted. But, unfortunately, if you think this was bad, Sartorius was just warming up lmao. All of this will lead to Serena questioning everything she knew up until now, including who she should trust or not. When it comes to her deck… That's something I can't tell much about since I don't want to spoil it. The only thing I'll say is that I have some good plans... ;)**

**Eduardo: Thank you for pointing that out. I'll make sure to pay attention to it in upcoming duels! :)**

**Well, guys, shit can officially begin lol. I'm so looking forward to future chapters…**

**This chapter takes place during 'Happily Never After'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

**On with the story!**

"_Do you think looking after her will be a problem?" The woman asked. "Maria…" The other woman started, only to be cut off. "I know, but I've already told you about current circumstances. I can't stay here either, since my son and husband are back in California. They'll fire me from my job, and Luca can't take care of Ben forever." The first woman let out a sigh. "Fine. It won't be a problem." A man spoke up. "Are you sure?" The other woman asked him. "I know it's not easy. But no one deserves to live through the same thing you and I had been forced to." _

"_You're right." The woman finally agreed with him. "You've grown quite fond of her, haven't you?" She then pointed out with a small smile. "So have you." The man quickly responded. "Fair enough." The woman agreed. "How is she?" She then asked. "As fine as she can be in this situation." The woman told her with another sigh._

I let out a sneeze while covering myself with bed sheets. What I wanted the most was to just stay under them sitting, and fade out of existence… Or for everything else to fade out of existence instead. That would be the only way for this madness to stop…

"_DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ben roared, pushing me away violently._

"_Keep that wench far away from me." He growled and strode towards the exit._

_Suddenly, I was pushed away rather harshly. I looked up in utter astonishment. "__**Don't **__touch me." Sartorius hissed with a glare._

"_Master Sartorius, what are you doing with that wretch?!" Ben demanded while glaring at me._

"_Why are you looking at me with such pitiful eyes?" Sartorius frowned at me. "I'm just worr…" "I __**don't care **__about what you think!" He growled at me._

"_If you know what's good for you, then you'll stay away from me. Consider this a warning." He whispered in my right ear, making shivers run down my spine._

I just wanted to tell myself this was a nightmare I would eventually wake up from… But it wasn't. No matter how many times I pinched myself, it didn't work. I was still stuck here, with some people I cared about missing, and some of them hating me…

The thing was, I really, _really _didn't understand what had happened. I just _couldn't_.

First Sarina and Sartorius went missing, then someone broke into Industrial Illusions, someone tried to hypnotize me, Ben joined the Society Of Light, Aunt went missing, and Sartorius returned as the leader of this society… It just sounded _insane_.

I still couldn't get over the way Ben and Sartorius had treated me. The former literally hated my guts now, and the latter _threatened_ me… And I didn't know why. _Why _were they acting so different all of a sudden? _Why _did they hate me? And _why _was this happening to me?! _What _did I do to deserve this?!

Despite us having some arguments, Ben and I used to be close… And Sartorius never threatened me. At this point, I preferred him still missing than seeing him like this. What caused them to change so much?! With them treating me like this, I was even beginning to wonder whether they had just been pretending to care about me, or whether that was really them…

Maybe someone kidnapped them and replaced them with clones or something… That may have sounded crazy… But _possible_! Scientists practiced cloning! _Except that_, they managed to clone _animals_, _not_ actual _human beings_… I had to shoot down that theory. But, from what I read, some of those cloning attempts have been rather successful. One cloned dog even lived for 10 years…

"Serena, not even a cloned dog can help you in this situation." I growled to myself, grabbing the sheets even more tightly. "_Cazzo_." I added as a good measure, to remind myself I was an idiot. Really, only an idiot would think about clones! It sounded like a messed-up film plot! It sounded like either fantasy or science fiction!

_However_, Hassleberry's dinosaur bone wasn't exactly realistic either… It still sounded more possible than cloning though.

Since I had to throw away the 'clones' theory, that would mean only one thing. Either they had pretended to care about me… _Or _they just _snapped_, like, gone insane! Those two theories were the only possible things, right? Nothing else could explain this behavior! But the question was, why did the rest of them snap as well? Did losing a duel really lead them to insanity? Or did that 'Society Of Light' do the trick of making them go crazy?

Suddenly, I could hear my stomach growling. I let out a groan and stood up from the bed.

As much as I wanted to stay in here whole day, I couldn't do it hungry. I had to go and get something for eating. Then I could go back to theorizing about what could have happened to everyone. Or, I could just go back to wanting to fade out of existence…

As soon as I put on my red boots, I headed outside the room.

* * *

Since I was so hungry, I decided to go to the card shop and buy two sandwiches. Those things could calm your appetite more than breakfast at the Slifer Red dorm. While I was going back to the dorm (having already eaten the sandwiches), I could see Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry talking between themselves.

"Oh, hi, Serena." Jaden waved. He was always the first one to notice me, I had to note that. "Hi." I said simply while walking over to them. I _did_ want to go back to my room and try to forget everything… But I promised to myself I'd try to have contact with some people, especially since I couldn't do so with the ones I used to.

"What are you talking about?" I then asked. "It looks like Sartorius had brainwashed the entire Obelisk Blue dorm." Hassleberry spoke up with his arms folded. I stopped breathing for a few seconds. They brought up the topic I hoped they _wouldn't_…

Honestly, when they had said 'brainwashed', I thought they were joking. From what I knew, _no one _could brainwash you… That was only made-up stuff! It covered up for 'going insane'… By now, I _really _didn't know what to believe. My mind kept trying to be logical, and it involved those two options… It kept telling me 'brainwashing' was nonsense. It's never been scientifically proven after all! But, madness, on the other hand, _has_.

I'd never been much interested in science things like chemistry and physics, but biology was technically some sort of it… Everything in nature had to be scientifically proven, including how creatures managed to live, and breathe! Brainwashing was _not _a part of it. _Logically _speaking, all of the members of the 'Society Of Light' had succumbed to insanity. Logically speaking, Ben and Sartorius had gone insane. Or had they been that way from the start? I was pretty sure it was one of those two things… But then why couldn't the word 'brainwashed' leave my head?

"Hey, are you alright?" Syrus' voice brought me back to reality. I looked up to see them staring at me. "I'm fine." I quickly said. "Well, if only we knew what the oldest-living freshman was doing right now…" Hassleberry trailed off with a frown.

'_He's a bit older than our average freshman, but he's an eager learner!' _Crowler's words from yesterday echoed in my head. _'Except that your 'a bit older than average' freshman used to look after me since I was four. Let that sink in, Crowler.' _I thought bitterly.

"How could they do that? Especially knowing he has a profession…" Syrus wondered. "Beats me." Jaden shrugged his shoulders. "Say, soldier," Hassleberry suddenly looked at me. "What did Sartorius steal from you yesterday?" He asked curiously.

For the second time today, I stopped breathing for a few moments. I was trying to process what the guy had just said to me. What in the world was he… Oh, I understood it now. He got it all wrong… One, small part of me felt a bit angry at Hassleberry for accusing Sartorius of doing such a thing. No idea why, since I had pretty much concluded the man had gone insane. There was nothing I could do concerning someone's madness, after all!

"Sartorius didn't steal anything from me." I spoke up with traces of anger in my voice. "How?! You had agreed with me how you thought it was him!" Hassleberry pointed out in disbelief. "I _never _said it was Sartorius." I retorted, my hands curling into fists. "In fact, accusing him of that is just wrong!" I then shouted, feeling even more anger. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Jaden and Syrus staring at me in surprise.

No idea why I was defending the man, really, since I shouldn't have. Not after the way he had threatened me…

"Why are you defending the enemy?!" Hassleberry demanded in astonishment. "I hate when people accuse anybody of something they hadn't done." I lied with a growl. "But he _had_!" "No, he _hadn't_. You had said yesterday it was Mister Gruesome, Aster Phoenix's manager." I clenched my fists.

By now, all three of them looked at me in what seemed to be realization. "Sartorius _is _Mister Gruesome." Hassleberry finally spoke up calmly. "He's also Aster Phoenix's manager." Syrus added.

At that moment, I felt like someone had splashed me with a bucket of cold water. I couldn't get more shocked than this, that was for sure. What they were telling me was that Sartorius had snooped through my room, and that he was Aster Phoenix's manager all this time?!

"_Fine, what makes him so gruesome?" "His skin was as white as a bone." "And his eyes looked scary…" _Words from yesterday's conversation were echoing in my head.

The description _did _match Sartorius… No one else here was as pale as him, and no one else had such cold eyes…

Then that meant he _didn't _steal that tarot card from me. He just got back what he had dropped earlier. However, he still snooped though the room without my permission! I still found it a bit hard to believe in that. Sartorius I knew had decency not to look through people's things without asking… _But_ he _also _had decency not to organize a sect (or society, it was the same thing to me by now) in the middle of a freaking school! So, what did _I _know?

Feelings of anger washed over me as that information sunk in. That was when I remembered another thing they had said. He was Aster Phoenix's manager… Which meant they had to be in contact with each other! When I asked Phoenix about Sartorius, he_ lied_ to me!

By now, my blood was boiling. If I ever saw Aster Phoenix again, he was so going to regret lying to me… At that moment, only one thing mattered to me. I didn't give a damn that he had threatened me, I was going to give Sartorius a piece of my mind. Insane or not, _no one _snooped through my room and got away with it!

"Guys!" Bastion's voice made us quickly turn around. He ran up to us before stopping to breathe. "What is it, Bastion?" Syrus asked him curiously. "I've just heard Ben, Alexis, and Chazz talking between themselves. Apparently, the 'Society Of Light' intends to suggest to Crowler and Bonaparte location for our upcoming field trip." The British guy explained.

All three of them were gaping at him. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, on the other hand. I didn't know this Academy organized field trips…

"We have a field trip?" I spoke up in surprise, earning a nod from the guys. "Well, if they want to give their suggestions, then don't we get a say in this too?" Jaden pointed out with a frown. "When are they going there, soldier?" Hassleberry asked Bastion. "_Right now_." The guy replied. "Then what are we waiting for?" Jaden demanded. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Syrus asked him uncertainly.

"Do you want a sect to tell you where to go for a field trip, or not?" I looked at the short guy with a frown. I was still a bit angry because of what they had just told me… "Good point." He finally nodded with a frown of his own. "Sect, really?" Bastion raised an eyebrow at me. "They fit the description of one perfectly well." I folded my arms with a huff. "If you say so." He let out a sigh.

* * *

We were running through the main building's corridors towards Crowler's office. From what I could see, there wasn't anyone in here, which meant either they had already been here before… Or we had been here earlier than them. I sincerely hoped the case was the latter.

"Do you think they're already inside?!" Syrus asked. "There's a possibility." Bastion replied while panting.

"I'm glad you're both listening to reason. Take a seat and let Master Sartorius handle this!" I could hear Alexis' voice from the inside. Dang. They were already inside…

At that moment, Hassleberry and Bastion opened the door. We ran inside, with Syrus and I closing the door in process. "Hold on, guys! I mean, don't we get a vote?" Jaden spoke up with a smile. The moment they heard his voice, everyone except Sartorius turned around to look at us.

"Back off, you dork!" Chazz growled. "At least until you're smart enough to join us." Alexis added icily. I opened my mouth, wanting to tell her 'you mean, dumb enough'… Only to close them once a hand landed on my shoulder. "Just chill out, and let me handle this." Jaden told me with a smile. I blinked at him in surprise. It was as if he literally knew what I was about to do…

I simply nodded to him, not knowing what else to say. If I did say what I had intended to, then it would probably start up a fight…

"Look," Jaden turned his attention back to people in front of us. "Let's do this fair and square. How about settling this with a duel, big guy?" He asked. "A duel?" Sartorius turned his head halfway to look at us. I couldn't help feeling shivers running down my spine the moment he spoke up. "Interesting… You win, and you choose the location of this trip. However, should you happen to lose our little wager…"

By now, he completely turned around. I had the biggest urge to either hide behind one of the guys (with Syrus being a notable exception, for obvious reasons), or just run out…

I was suddenly reminded of his threat, since his eyes briefly looked in mine before turning back to Jaden. However, if I did one of those things, then I would be considered a coward. I still wanted to confront him about what he had done to me, and I couldn't do that if I were afraid! Come on, Serena, show to them you have some guts!

I literally put a forced smile on my face and tried to stand up straight, and still. Maybe I resembled a statue at that moment… But it was better than running out!

"Well then, promise me _this_… You'll join me in the 'Society Of Light'!" "Jaden, I don't like those odds…" Syrus trailed off uncertainly. "They use way too much bleach for their laundry, Sarge." Hassleberry agreed. "Hassleberry's right." Bastion nodded.

Not sure what bleach had to do with any of this, but whatever…

"Come on, guys. You can't let all this 'brainwashing' stuff get to you!" Jaden replied to them firmly. I opened my mouth to tell him it wasn't 'brainwashing' but 'madness', only to close them. That would make everyone from the society furious… They'd probably try to slit my throat. I _didn't _want, _nor_ need that…

"He's right, especially since I won't be the one participating in this duel." Sartorius replied calmly. "What?" Jaden demanded in surprise. "You see, gentlemen," The man turned around to look at Crowler and Bonaparte. "As a new student here, I'd rather not stand out." He told them.

I raised both of my eyebrows in disbelief. _'I'd rather not stand out?' _What the hell?! He was already older than students here, and he was in charge of a sect in a school for teenagers… Seeing I couldn't say that out loud, I settled with a frown and a huff. _Incredibile_…

"Then get a new haircut!" Hassleberry shouted to him. "Touché… Now, tell me, will you be accepting my challenge, or not? I should confess, I already know your answer…" "Of course, I accept." Jaden nodded immediately. "When's the duel?" Crowler quickly asked.

"My suggestion is in a half an hour… Why prolong something that can be solved immediately?" Sartorius spoke up. "Half an hour?" Bastion demanded in surprise. "It's a deal." Jaden said before anyone else could comment on this. I, on the other hand, didn't let the man out of my sight. I still had the intention of confronting him, and no duel was going to stop me.

"You know who to call." Sartorius then told Alexis and Ben who nodded. "In that case, I'll be on my way." With those words, he started walking towards the exit. The guys and I moved out of the way so he could get out.

After another few moments, I decided to finally do it. "In case I don't make it in time for the duel, please, don't go insane like others had." I told Jaden before sprinting out of the office.

* * *

By the time Sartorius was in my sight, we were in front of the main building. "Sartorius!" I shouted. The man stopped walking once I did that. "Hadn't I already warned you to stay away from me?" He turned around to look at me with a scowl.

I did my best not to scream in anger at him. He had the audacity to scowl at me, after what he had done… I should be the one doing that! At this point, even though my excuse for doing this was his room snooping, it was more than that. It was anger directed at him for everything that happened up until now.

I'd never been so angry with him, and I knew what I was about to do probably wasn't the brightest idea… But did I care? _No_. I was mad, and I was going to prove my point. I was going to show I didn't like any of this, no matter the consequences. But _first_, I promised to myself I'd get back at anyone who had snooped through my things. I intended to keep that promise.

"I _don't give a damn_ about what you had said to me," I started while trying to stop shaking from anger. "Especially after the way you had snooped through my room." I straightened up with a glare.

"Oh, is that what this is about?" Sartorius raised an eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement. "How dare you?" I demanded icily, curling my hands into fists. "I was just taking back what was rightfully mine." He responded nonchalantly. "What gave you the right to do that?!" I asked venomously with my fists clenched.

"Out of all people, I thought _you_ would be the one to respect other people's privacy!" I then growled, feeling even more anger. "At this point, even _my parents _are better than you!" _'Stop it.' _A voice inside my head told me. _'Shut up.' _I thought back furiously.

As soon as I said the last part, the man looked at me with a frown. "Don't you think you're going a bit too far with comparing me to your parents?" He demanded, as if he were daring me to answer that question. "I _don't _think so." I spat.

"Are you sure about that?" Sartorius demanded. "In fact, do you even _know _them?" "What kind of a question is that?" I growled. "I just think comparing me to your parents is quite unfair, considering what they had done."

By now, I was utterly confused. I had _no idea _what he was talking about…

"What are you trying to say?!" I demanded. However, I only got a smug smile as a response. "You shouldn't compare me to them. I'm only doing what I have to. For the record, they're _worse _than me, since they didn't have to do what they had done." That smug smile became bigger.

Once I heard those words, feelings of anger washed over me yet again. He was talking down my parents like that… They may have forced me into this school, and they may have been overprotective… But that didn't give him right to talk like that about them! Enough was _enough._

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS LIKE THAT?!" I finally screeched. I could have sworn the man flinched for a moment before smiling smugly yet again. "I was simply stating the truth. Painful one, but truth can be like that." "What do you know?!" I shouted. "My dear, I know _everything_. I can see the future, remember?" He reminded smugly.

"If you think you know everything, then have you predicted me challenging you to a duel?!" I suddenly shouted. "I don't want to duel _you_." Sartorius frowned and turned around to leave. "Why, because you are a coward?!" I shouted over to him just as he began walking away.

Those words made the man stop. "What makes you think I'm a coward?" He turned around halfway to look at me. "If you weren't, then you'd accept a damn duel a simple girl had challenged you to." I pointed out icily. "A shame, really, since you told me to be brave, and now you're afraid of accepting this…" I then added with a smirk.

"If you want a duel so badly, then who am I to stop you? I already know how it's going to end…" The man finally spoke up, smiling smugly. "We'll see about that." I retorted with my fists clenched. "I need to get my Duel Disk." "Then where do you propose we have the duel?" He asked coldly. "The clearing from yesterday." I said simply.

With those words, I started running towards the Slifer Red dorm to get the Duel Disk.

* * *

While I was strapping the Duel Disk to my left arm, I finally realized what I had just done. I was so angry with Sartorius saying nasty things about my parents I basically challenged him to something I wasn't fond of at all… Not just that, I wanted to feel sweet revenge… Not that I wasn't angry, it was just that… One part inside kept telling me how me treating him like that was just wrong. It kept telling me to stop this madness…

I _wasn't _going to stop though. Why should I? If Sartorius could go around threatening me, I could treat him in whatever way I wanted too! Besides, it was too late to give up. I was the one who challenged him, and I had no intention of backing down.

After making sure my deck was in the box tied to my waist, I ran outside.

* * *

'_Serena, do you really want to do this?' _That small, unsure part of me asked in my head. _'Of course I do, or else I wouldn't have challenged him to the duel.' _I thought back in annoyance. _'You're doing this out of anger.' _That part of me pointed out. _'Thank you for the obvious. I want to sense the sweet feeling of revenge...' _I thought back.

'_But that's Sartorius you want to exact your revenge on.' 'So?' _I thought annoyed. _'Think about it. Do you really want to do that to someone who's looked after you more than your own parents?' _That unsure part asked. _'Well, that 'someone' has gone insane, and sent my cousin into madness along the way. He even threatened me!' _I retorted. _'Do you really believe in that?' _The other part of me asked doubtfully.

'_In what?' _I demanded. _'Do you really believe Sartorius has gone insane?' 'Well, unless someone can scientifically explain to me why in the world he's acting so different, then __**yes**__. I'm __**done **__playing nice.' _I thought furiously. _'You don't really mean that…' _

Before I could continue arguing with myself, I noticed I was finally inside the forest. Seeing ten minutes have already passed, I started running towards the clearing. Sartorius was already there, shuffling his deck. It was a bit weird to see him holding something that wasn't tarot cards, but I stayed quiet.

"Let's get going, shall we?" He demanded, finally noticing me. "Yes." I simply nodded, taking my deck out as well. After shuffling it for a few seconds, I put it in the slot on the Duel Disk. Once we were far enough from each other, I pushed the on button. The Duel Disk activated itself. I looked up, ready for the duel. Meanwhile, Sartorius activated his Duel Disk as well. We drew five cards each.

**Sartorius: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"I'll start first." I declared, drawing my sixth card. I then put it into my left hand, along with other ones. After looking at all of them for a few seconds, I finally nodded.

"I'll summon Ocean Amoeba in Defense Mode." I declared, putting the card in its slot. The amoeba appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:900/400)**. "I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." "Quite a weak monster for defense, interesting…" Sartorius mused with that smug smile. "Will you just get on with the duel instead of observing my cards?!" I growled.

"Now, now, there's no need to get so upset." He replied nonchalantly, drawing his sixth card. "Don't you tell me what to do." I hissed quietly. "I'll begin with Arcana Force III-The Empress in Attack Mode." My eyes widened in surprise as the monster appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:1300/1300)**. It was a strange-looking creature with spikes on its back.

But of course. Why was I surprised this was Sartorius' deck? The man had a deck of tarot cards, he could see the future, it only made sense he would have a deck related to tarot cards, or something concerning that!

Suddenly, the card of the monster appeared right above it. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as it began spinning in the air. "What in the world…" I trailed off astonished. "This card gives you a choice, as it possesses two distinct abilities, depending on how the card ends up. As soon as you say 'stop', it will stop spinning." Sartorius explained calmly.

I frowned while observing the spinning card. I had no idea what its effects were, so I would just have to hope for the best… "Fine, stop!" I finally shouted.

The card stopped… Right-side up. "As I predicted it would." Sartorius declared. "What's the deal?!" I demanded. "Because the card stopped right-side up, every time you summon a monster, I can summon another one of my own." He stated, making my eyes widen.

SHOOT… That meant if I summoned a monster next turn, he could summon it and then next one on his turn… He could have three monsters by then! I had to find a way to destroy that thing somehow!

"Then I play spell card 'Pentacle Of Ace', The man lifted up a card in his right hand. A spinning card appeared. "What's with the constant spinning?!" I demanded in annoyance. It was getting on my nerves already… "I thought you liked spinning." Sartorius looked up at me smugly. "But what do spinning cards have to do with…" I stopped immediately, realizing what he was talking about. My eyes widened in astonishment.

Of course… He was referring to _that_!

"_Spin me again!" My four-year-old self let out a squeal while Sartorius was spinning me around in the air. "Again!" He did so. "Again!" One more time. "Again and again!" "You do realize if I keep spinning you, we'll end up on the ground? Or I could drop you? My head hurts…" The man looked at me, still holding me in the air. "No, we won't. And you won't drop me." I shook my head with a smile._

_He raised an eyebrow at me. "What makes you think that?" "Because I believe in you." I replied with a grin. "Now do it again!" I then squealed._

"I'd rather _not _have spinning cards." I looked up with a glare. "Well, too bad, since you don't get to choose." Sartorius replied nonchalantly. "The only thing you get to decide is the card's effect, so say it!" "Stop." I growled.

The card landed… Upside down. For a second, I could have sworn I've seen the man's eyes widening. It could have been my imagination for all I knew…

"So, what's the card's effect?" I raised an eyebrow. "You draw a card and gain 500 Life Points." Sartorius explained. "Whatever." I rolled my eyes and drew one card. I was definitely going to need both of those things if I wanted to win, but I wasn't going to show him I was happy about this.

**Sartorius: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4500 LP**

"I'll end my turn by setting two facedowns."

"About damn time." I growled, drawing another card. "There's no need to be so nervous. I already know how this is going to end…" Sartorius told me smugly. "Please just do me a favor and cut the crap already." I retorted. "Since when did we tell to each other such things?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

By now, I was fed up with the man playing innocent. Not only had he gone insane, but now he was pretending to be in the dark about it?! I _wasn't _buying that stupid behavior!

"Ever since you've gone insane." I responded icily. "_Insane_?" Sartorius looked up from his cards with a frown. "Serena, I'm not insane." He stated.

Such direct answer completely caught me by surprise. It wasn't just that. This was the first time the man called me by my name after a year and a half… And it sounded completely different. He didn't answer it so coldly, or smugly as I was used to by now. In fact, it sounded like Sartorius I used to know…

'_Serena, I'm not insane.' _Those words were still echoing in my head. _'HA! WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!' _The other, unsure part of me roared in triumph. _'This proves nothing!' _I thought back in annoyance.

"Then how do you explain your behavior up until now?" I spoke up, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "Let's move on, shall we? It's your turn." The man replied coldly, completely ignoring my question. A frown appeared on my face. From what I could see, he was acting as if that 'I'm not insane' moment hadn't occurred at all…

Not sure what the hell that was about, nor did I have time to think about it. It was my turn after all!

I was about to summon my monster, when… "I activate my Continuous Trap, 'Tour Of Doom'!" The man suddenly declared, revealing one of his facedowns.

I looked up in surprise. "What in the world?!" I exclaimed. The card started spinning. "You know what to do." He told me. "Fine, stop!" I shouted. The card stopped right-side up.

A smug smile appeared on Sartorius' face. I knew that didn't mean anything good… "Since it landed right-side up, you're not allowed to Normal Summon or Special Summon a monster on your next turn." He explained. "What?!" I exclaimed, realizing what that meant. I only hoped my Trap Cards would help me when that moment came…

"I'll summon Island Lava Cactus in Defense Mode," I started, putting the card in its intended slot. The plant appeared on the field (**ATK/DEF:700/2000)**. "Since you Normal Summoned a monster to the field, I activate The Empress' effect. I summon Arcana Force VI-The Lovers in Defense Mode." Sartorius quickly summoned another monster. A strange-looking monster with huge hands and red dots appeared (**ATK/DEF:1600/1600)**.

A card appeared, spinning above it. "You know what to do." The man stated. "Wait, what are its effects?" I demanded. "If it lands right-side up, then its sacrifice can be treated as two. If it lands upside down, I can't tribute summon an Arcana Force monster." He explained nonchalantly. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

It was as if he wasn't even bothered by the possibility of the card stopping upside down…

"Stop!" I exclaimed, just as it was near landing upside down. However, to my shock, it still kept spinning, before landing _right-side _up. "How?!" I cried astonished. "Everything is predetermined… You can't escape your destiny!" Sartorius smiled smugly. "Then what's the point of spinning cards if you know how they're going to land?!" I demanded with a glare.

"It gives you an illusion of free will." "Yeah, sure." I huffed. But then, at that moment, realization hit me. Everything Sartorius ever predicted came true. If he claimed to know how this duel would end, and if he claimed everything was predetermined, then I was in a _huge problem_… Challenging someone who could see the future to a duel was a _terrible idea_. I should have thought it through! But _no, _Serena Accardi had to be angry and act like an idiot!

While I was aware my fate was sealed if Sartorius knew how this would end… I didn't know how it would end, and the suspense was starting unnerve me… There was nothing else I could do apart from fighting though. I brought this situation upon myself, now I had to get out of it.

"I activate 'Mother Nature!" I lifted up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to Special Summon a monster from my hand. Wetland Dingo, come out!" I put the card in its slot. The dingo appeared on the field with a howl **(****ATK/DEF:2400/1800)**.

"Quite a strong monster." Sartorius noted. I nodded with a glare. "And it's about to destroy one of your monsters! Wetland Dingo, attack Arcana Force The Empress!" I ordered, not sure whether that was truly the monster's name or not. I only remembered it had something to do with Arcana, and the 'Empress' part stuck with me… I had no idea which number though.

The dingo let out a howl and ran towards the monster. It slashed its claws at it, destroying it in process. Some wind appeared. I could see Sartorius briefly covering eyes with his right arm.

**Sartorius: 2900 LP**

**Me: 4500 LP**

Seeing I had only 'Nitrogen Boost' in my hand, I knew there was nothing else I could do. At least I managed to deal some blow to him…

"I end my turn." I declared. Sartorius drew another card. "First, I play the Spell Card, 'Cup Of Ace'." He declared, revealing his second facedown. The card started spinning. "I should say 'stop'?" I presumed, already kind of used to those cards. "Precisely." He nodded.

"Then stop!" I said immediately, wanting to just get over with it. I probably should have asked for its effects… It was too late for that though. The card stopped right-side up. "Since it's right-side up, I get to draw 2 cards." He then said. I shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

"Next, I play 'Suit Of Sword X'." A spinning card appeared in the air. "What does that thing even do?" I frowned. "If it lands right-side up, all of your monsters are destroyed. If it's upside down, then all of my monsters are destroyed instead." Sartorius briefly explained. My eyes widened for a few seconds.

I had to get it right, or else I'd be doomed…

"Stop!" I shouted, just as it was near to landing upside down. Unfortunately, it kept spinning. The card landed… _Right-side up_. All three of my monsters disappeared. Smoke appeared, making me cover my eyes with the right arm. "Damn it!" I cried. Losing all three of them at the same time was _a lot_… Thankfully, I managed to remember their Special Effects.

"By destroying my Amoeba, you activated its Special Effect," I started while taking arm off my eyes and straightening up. "You lose the amount of Life Points equal to its Attack and Defense Points combined." I declared firmly. Blue light glowed around the man's body, costing him 1300 points.

**Sartorius: 1600 LP**

**Me: 4500 LP**

"And by destroying Lava Cactus, you activated another Special Effect. Once it's destroyed, one card returns from the graveyard to my hand." I continued explaining, as one card returned to my hand. I quickly looked at it, and realized it was Ocean Amoeba. Except that I couldn't summon it because of the stupid trap card!

My trap cards couldn't help me either, since I had no monsters at the field. Where was 'Perfect Harmony' when I needed it?!

"Interesting… I'm afraid it won't help you though." Sartorius smiled smugly. "We'll see about that." I retorted. However, I had to agree I was literally in a corner with no monsters… "I'm sacrificing Arcana Force VI-The Lovers to summon Arcana Force XXI-The World in Attack Mode!" He declared, lifting up a card in his right hand.

A huge, and I mean it, _huge _monster appeared behind the man **(****ATK/DEF:3100/3100)**. I wasn't even sure what exactly it was… The worst thing about it was its amount of points. Since I pretty much had no monsters, that meant I was going to receive a _direct _attack!

A card appeared above the monster, spinning. "Stop!" I shouted immediately, already frightened because of the monster's Attack Points. The card stopped… Upside down.

For a brief moment, I could have sworn I've seen Sartorius' eyes widening slightly. It could have been imagination for all I knew… "So, what does that mean?!" I demanded. "Since it's upside down, when you draw, you add the top card from the graveyard to your hand." He explained. A frown appeared on my face.

That would be either Island Lava Cactus, or Wetland Dingo… _Not helping._

"Now, attack her directly!" The man ordered. My eyes widened once the monster fired a yellow beam straight at me. It hit me, making me scream in pain. It definitely _wasn't _a light attack… It cost me a lot of Life Points too.

**Sartorius: 1600 LP**

**Me: 1400 LP**

"With that, I end my turn." Sartorius finished. I drew another card, and one from the graveyard returned to my hand. However, I knew I couldn't really do anything due to that trap card on his side of field. This one was yet another monster… With no possibility of summoning it!

"I end my turn as well." I commented with a growl. "That's it?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Well, what do you expect me to do since my hand is filled with monsters I cannot summon?!" I shouted, irritated. Panic was definitely getting to me, since I knew I was going to lose… "I told you everything was predetermined. You can't run away from destiny." He declared.

I simply looked away with hands over my face. I knew very well what was coming next…

"Attack her directly!" I let out another scream of pain once the beam hit me. This time, my Life Points dropped to zero. I fell to my knees, with hands on the ground.

**Sartorius: 1600 LP**

**Me: 0 LP**

That was when my head started throbbing. It hurt so much, and the pain was unbearable… And I wanted it to stop! I let out a scream and grabbed the head with my hands.

Suddenly, after another few moments, the pain stopped. It was as if it had never been there… I took hands off my head in confusion. I was still looking at the ground. Why did my head hurt so much? And why did it stop? I was still feeling pretty normal, if we didn't count that headache…

Looking, up I could see Sartorius standing right in front of me. His cold, purple eyes were staring right into my light blue ones. "Sorry about that, don't know why my head hurt so much." I spoke up coldly. However, my words only made the man's eyes widen.

"No one can resist the power of light…" He trailed off with a growl. "Wait, what was supposed to happen because I lost? Was I supposed to see the light?" I raised an eyebrow. "What does 'seeing the light' even mean? I mean, sun is pretty much above you right now, so I've basically already seen the light…" I wondered aloud.

I let out a gasp once Sartorius suddenly grabbed me by collar of my jacket violently. My heart started beating faster in panic. By now, the man lifted me up in the air a bit while still holding my collar tightly. "Are you mocking me?" He demanded in a deadly tone, which made shivers run down my spine. His eyes were literally shooting daggers at me.

"No, I really don't get it." I whimpered in fear, quickly looking away. With the furious look still on his face, Sartorius let go of my collar. I fell to the ground. I yelped in a bit of pain once my knees hit the ground as well. "I've already told you to stay away from me. Next time, I'll be even worse if you come near me." He looked at me threateningly.

And what did I do? I was _terrified_. So that terrifiedgirl looked away in panic. I refused to look at the man who was threatening me right now. Thankfully, sound of footsteps walking away made me feel at ease.

Looking up, I realized Sartorius was no longer in my sight. I let out a sigh while staring at my Duel Disk. I lost the duel, but I didn't go insane like others? What was that about? I really had no idea…

'_Serena, I'm not insane.' _Suddenly, those words were echoing in my head. What in the world did he mean by that? His behavior up until now clearly indicated he'd gone insane. Not only that, he also pulled Ben and others into this madness…

'_You know that's not true.' _The smaller part of me spoke up. _'Then how do you explain this behavior? It's not exactly sane either.' _I thought back in annoyance.

I was still extremely confused. On one side, the behavior of the 'Society Of Light' wasn't normal at all… They matched the description of lunatics. But then why did Sartorius say he wasn't insane? Was I supposed to believe in that? There was no other explanation for this apart from madness! But then why did those words stay with me, despite my opposite beliefs?

* * *

Once I returned to the Slifer Red dorm, I quickly left the Duel Disk inside my room. Jaden, Hassleberry, Bastion and Syrus were talking between themselves on the cliff next to the dorm.

"Why weren't you at the arena for the duel?" Hassleberry questioned once I walked up to them. "I wasn't feeling well." I lied. Bastion raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet. "You're feeling better now?" Jaden presumed. I simply nodded. "And I guess you won that duel?"

"He did!" Syrus cheered. "Where are we going for that trip then?" I asked. "I chose Domino City." The brown-haired smiled, his chocolate brown eyes looking straight at me.

My eyes widened, the information slowly sinking in. We were… We were going to the place where I was born… And the place I couldn't really remember. It was the place directly tied to my memory problem…

Feelings of excitement washed over me. While the 'Society Of Light' was still a huge problem, I couldn't wait for this trip. If no one would tell me about my missing memories, maybe seeing something at the Domino City could help me in remembering… This time, no one could lie to me. I could really find out the truth!

**Well, finally, the end of the chapter!**

**Let me tell you right now. Thinking of how the duel with Sartorius was going to play out was effing hard, since I didn't want to copy previous duels, yet I still had to use cards from the anime… It's the hardest duel for writing for me so far, so I hope it was at least a bit convincing! I mean, obviously Serena was going to lose either way, but thinking of ****_how _****she was going to lose was a bit complicated…**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	22. Preparations

**nbj****: Thank you for reviewing, here's the next chapter! :)**

**RokuxNami3: Thank you for reviewing, glad you like it! :)**

**Well, guys, here's the next chapter! **

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Hey, stop ruining my hair!" The girl's voice objected with a laugh. "But your hair is messy already, Serena." The boy's voice pointed out, trying to sound serious. "That's not a reason to ruin it even more!" The girl exclaimed. _

_It was silent for a few moments. "I've never seen hair as red as yours." The boy spoke up cheerfully. "And I've never seen hair as unruly as yours." The girl replied with a chuckle. "You mean, yours?" The boy corrected. "No, yours!" She argued. "Yours!" He argued back. "Oh, you asked for it!" The girl finally exclaimed. Tumbling over and laughter could be heard._

I took a small suitcase from under my bed, putting it on a table. After opening it, I looked around the room.

It was Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow was the day we would go to Domino City for that field trip. We were supposed to stay there for a few days, and then go back to the Academy. Just knowing we were actually going to my hometown filled me with excitement.

I wasn't sure whether I even remembered it… But that didn't matter. I was actually setting foot to a place my parents avoided talking about, and they knew nothing about it… Maybe I could remember something there, since I couldn't get answers from my family. It still kind of felt surreal…

Since I knew wandering around without guide was completely useless, I decided to look through my album. Some of pictures when I was young were taken somewhere outside. Hopefully, I would recognize some places from them… That was why I decided to carry pictures in my backpack, inside an envelope. Carrying an album would have been more reasonable… Except that it would break my back due to its heaviness. The same case was with my herbarium, which was why I decided to put both of those things in my suitcase.

Backpack would serve only for light things, such as water bottle and food.

Suddenly, I could hear knocking on the door. I looked up, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. I walked up to the door.

Once I opened them, I was met with chocolate brown eyes looking into my light blue ones. "Serena." Jaden greeted with a smile. "Hey." I simply greeted back. "You're preparing for the field trip?" He guessed. "Actually, I've just taken out my suitcase." I replied honestly. "Well, there's not much to pack either way." He pointed out with a laugh.

I eyed him for a few seconds, before finally realizing what he was talking about. Since we were on a field trip, we had to wear our uniforms. Seeing we only wore those; we didn't have to pack many clothes. There were only essential things such as toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush… Plus my herbarium and album. There really wasn't much for packing…

"A good point there." I finally admitted. "Are you done packing?" I then asked. "Didn't even start." Jaden shrugged. "You do realize we're leaving tomorrow?" I raised an eyebrow. "I have a whole night for packing." He put arms behind his head with a sheepish smile.

I looked at him, not knowing what to say. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling this warmness inside me. While I did grow used to our conversations, this was the first time I actually felt like this, and it was so sudden… It was the same feeling I used to have while talking to people I used to be close to. I haven't felt that way since the day Ben went mad…

Whenever those few people were around me, I would feel so happy… But now I was feeling that way again.

It definitely wasn't the feeling of missing someone, like the one I had felt while he was gone. No. Jaden was right here in front of me, with a smile on his face. And him talking to me felt like pleasure… That was what that warm feeling was. I _enjoyed _spending some time with him. There was something about him that could immediately lift up your spirits… It definitely lifted up mine right now.

He was the only sane person here I felt comfortable with… I've come to respect Syrus, Bastion and Hassleberry, but being with them wasn't the same for some reason. The others, well…

"_Keep that wench far away from me." Ben growled and strode towards the exit._

"_Are you mocking me?" Sartorius asked in a deadly tone while holding me by my collar. "No, I really don't know." I whimpered in fear and quickly looked away._

NO. I promised to myself I'd try not to think about my cousin, nor that man. I didn't want those thoughts to spoil my Domino City trip. Besides, why would I bother thinking about people who only wanted to hurt me? No matter how much I wanted to deny that, it was a painful truth…

"So," Jaden's voice brought me back to reality. "Are you going to continue packing or not?" He asked curiously. I looked up at him. "Why?" I asked slowly. "If you won't pack, then we can just chill out." The brown-haired guy smiled. "That is, if you want." He quickly added.

If he had asked me this a month ago, I probably would have said 'no'. I probably would have even refused to talk to him longer than this! While one part of me kept telling me this was a bad idea, the stronger one won out. It told me to do what I pleased. If I enjoyed being around someone, then why would I torture myself with being lonely? That was a good question, indeed…

"Why not?" I quickly asked with a shrug, not wanting to ponder that subject anymore. "Great." Jaden grinned. "We can go to my room…" The moment he said those words, my eyes widened in alarm.

The last time I stepped inside that room, I saw Syrus and Hassleberry naked… And that ended with me running out with Jaden's blazer over my head. Even though I accepted his offer, did I really want to go into that room again? I was still feeling a bit nervous…

"We can go to my room instead." I quickly suggested. "Why?" Jaden gave me a confused look. I cleared my throat. I could literally feel my cheeks turning red from embarrassment… "The last time I went inside, I promised never to set foot in there again." I explained shortly.

Stupid of me to tell him that, really… But I had to give some sort of answer at that moment!

I got a questioning look from the brown-haired guy. "Syrus and Hassleberry…" I cleared my throat and trailed off. My cheeks must have been even redder by now.

"Oh… Don't worry, it won't happen again. Next time, just knock." Jaden grabbed my hand with a smile. Before I could object, he started pulling me towards his room. And what did I do? _Nothing._ I was feeling utterly panicked! Opening the door, he led us inside. "See? It wasn't so bad!" He then looked at me.

I stayed quiet for a few moments. Walking in here was way easier now, since naked guys weren't inside… Thank goodness!

I looked around the room, feeling a bit more confident. It wasn't so bad… That incident made me believe walking in here was bad… But it was just an incident! I shouldn't have let it influence me so much…

"As long as I don't see you naked in here, we're fine." I blurted out, turning to Jaden. While I felt a bit more comfortable here, walking in on two guys wasn't exactly a nice thing… I still couldn't forget it, which was why I would knock _every time _from now.

Jaden's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh… What?" I let out a sigh, feeling my cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Be… _My cousin _was right, I could really be tactless sometimes! "Just forget it." I quickly said.

"Fine." The guy smiled, taking off his red shoes. I did the same with my red boots. We put them next to the door. Jaden then sat on the floor. Not knowing what else to do, I sat there as well, right across him. But, honestly, I had no idea what to say… Avoiding socializing with people only added to my awkwardness sometimes. Look where that got me!

I started playing with one of my red strands out of pure nervousness. While I did grow used to our conversations, I guessed awkwardness came from me knowing I actually enjoyed it… Based on that feeling anyway. Besides, those conversations were brief, while I used to talk to my close ones more, and about many things… How was I going to start up a decent conversation? Jaden wasn't anyone I used to be close to, he wasn't family…

This was the first time I actually attempted to talk to someone else out of enjoyment. My brief talk with Syrus only cleared up some things, but this time, the desire for a conversation was genuine. And I had absolutely no idea how to behave!

"Does anyone else in your family have red hair?" The brown-haired guy suddenly asked with a smile, his eyes landing on my fingers. Right now, they were playing with a long strand on left side of my face (the one that always refused to calm down every time I brushed it).

Normal people would have reasonably replied to that question (if they were in my place). But me? "What?" I asked awkwardly, feeling even more embarrassed. "Does anyone else in your family have red hair?" He repeated the question. I was eyeing him for a few moments.

While I was still embarrassed… What was the point of being here if he did all the talk? What was the point if I wanted to talk to someone, but didn't say anything? At that moment, I cursed myself for previous lack of socialization. I must have looked like an idiot now!

"There's no need to be nervous. I won't bite!" Jaden let out a laugh. I looked up at him, my eyes widening slightly in surprise.

There was something about those words… Something familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I was sure I had heard something similar before…

"_Hey, I won't bite you, or something like that!" I laughed. However, I didn't get an answer. That's why I walked closer to the desk. "I'm Serena," I offered my hand with a smile. "What about you?" "What about me?" The boy's voice asked nervously. "What's your name?" I elaborated, my smile becoming bigger. "I'm… I'm…" _

I put a hand on my head. What just flashed through my mind… It must have been another lost memory. I definitely didn't remember this up until now. Yet, now that I did, even though it was brief, I could even remember how I was feeling back then. I was in first grade, and was actually _looking forward_ to meeting new people…

_First grade _of elementary school. I couldn't remember that up until now either. Jaden's words definitely triggered this, there was no doubt.

"Did I say something wrong?" His voice brought me out of my thoughts. "No, no," I quickly spoke up, looking up at the brown-haired guy. "My dad has same hair as me." I then added. "Well, it does match the color of your uniform." He pointed out in amusement.

I frowned. "I'd rather take anything yellow or blue. I look terrible in this." I replied while folding my arms. "I don't think so," Jaden shrugged. "But whatever you say." "What about you?" I quickly asked, wanting to change the subject. "What?" He questioned in confusion. "Does anybody in your family have hair like you?" I elaborated.

"Well, no one exactly," The brown-haired guy rubbed the back of his head. "My mum had had dark brown hair before she dyed it, and my dad has light brown hair." "So it's pretty much a mixture?" I presumed. "Probably. I don't know how the whole thing with genes works." He shrugged.

It was quiet for a few moments. Since I didn't want to feel awkward, I quickly looked around. Hopefully, I'd find something for starting up the conversation again… But, there wasn't anything around!

"You had said your parents know some things about Italy?" I blurted out. Stupid of me to mention that again, but I really didn't know what else to ask… "I've already told you about stereotypes…" Jaden mused. "They _do _know a bit about its culture too." He then added, folding his arms.

"Including some recipes." The brown-haired guy looked up with a thoughtful look. "Really?" I asked a bit excitedly. It's been quite some time since I ate anything Italian, and quite frankly, I missed it… "Yes?" He looked at me in surprise. "Which ones?" I quickly asked with a grin.

The fact that his parents, Japanese people, knew some Italian recipes excited me. I've grown up with Japanese cuisine more, so hearing some of them knew a bit about my native cuisine was great. I mean, not many Japanese people even paid attention to my culture, seeing Italy was far away from Japan…

"They cooked something called lasagna, I think…" Jaden trailed off. "Lasagna." I quickly corrected his pronunciation. "Sorry." I then apologized in embarrassment. "No, it's fine," He waved it off. "I always mess up the way they pronounce those dishes." He explained sheepishly. "I'm afraid I can't say the same, since that's my mother language you're talking about." I let out a laugh.

Jaden laughed as well. "Lasagnas." He corrected his pronunciation. "Then they cooked something known as risotto, and some pastas…" He counted on his fingers. "Have you tried Bottarga, or Carbonara?" I asked him.

"I don't know what Bottarga is," Jaden frowned. "But is the latter the one with bacon and eggs?" "That one." I nodded with a smile. "From Italian recipes my parents have cooked so far, that dish is my favorite." He admitted. "That means you have a good taste." I declared with a smirk.

"But what is that other thing you mentioned?" The brown-haired guy then asked in confusion. "It's salted and cured fish roe with pasta." I explained. "Similar to our Karasumi… What about you? What's your favorite food?" He then asked me.

I sighed. "A hard question, depending on which cuisine…" I explained. "And my parents told me I was bad when it came to food." Jaden started laughing. "Hush, you," I punched him in his right shoulder lightly with a smirk. "Blame it on my parents and aunt for cooking two cuisines in the same house!" I then exclaimed.

"That doesn't make much of difference, you know." The guy told me and burst into laughter again. He was right about that one… I started laughing as well. "But your parents cooked some recipes too!" I pointed out while trying to breathe from laughter. "I still know what my favorite dish is, and you don't." He laughed.

"Fine, fine, I pick sushi!" I finally exclaimed. "You said that only to prove me wrong." Jaden smirked. "No, I didn't!" I pointed my finger at him with a laugh. "Oh yeah?" He gave me a knowing look, as if he were daring me to deny it. "Then what's your favorite dish, Mister?" I demanded. "Fried shrimps." He replied immediately. "Good taste." I admitted with a nod.

"I know," Jaden smirked at me. "You had said it yourself." I was staring at him for a few moments… Before I burst in laughter yet again. "Fair enough!" I agreed.

I had to admit, I liked spending time with this guy more and more. Even though we've only talked about one thing so far, it filled me with so many positive feelings… Conversation with him really lifted up my spirits.

Once laughter finally stopped, it was quiet. Jaden suddenly took out his deck and started looking through it. "Since we're going to that field trip tomorrow, I might as well put those cards away not to lose them." He took out two, making my eyebrows furrow. "What's that?" I asked curiously.

He looked up at me. "Those are some cards." He said simply. I could see some sort of creatures drawn on them… Curiosity had to get better of me. "Can I see them?" I asked. Jaden looked between me and two cards in his hand back and forth for a few moments. Finally, he nodded. "Sure."

I took them with a frown. I was right, there were two creatures on the cards… Once I observed them better, I felt like I couldn't breathe for a few seconds.

One card was called 'Sacred Phoenix'. It showed a majestic, fiery phoenix in flight. The card had **2800/2500 **points. A strong monster… The second card was with a small creature that resembled a hybrid of a stag and a bird. Its body resembled stag's but it had bird's wings… The monster had **700/400 **points.

For some reason, I could have sworn I'd seen those cards somewhere before… But I couldn't remember from where! I wasn't crazy, I _had _seen them somewhere… That explained why they looked so familiar.

"Where did you get those cards?" I asked Jaden in surprise while giving the cards back to him. "From what I remember, I've always had them with me." He shrugged. "Why?" "It doesn't matter," I waved it off. "I just think they look nice." I then lied.

With a smile, Jaden nodded and put the cards in his drawer. I honestly didn't know why he didn't keep them with the rest of his deck… It didn't matter anyway, since those were his cards. He could do whatever he wanted with them.

Suddenly, knocking on the door could be heard. "Come in." Jaden said. The door opened… Showing _Aster Phoenix_. "Hey, Aster." The brown-haired guy greeted. The silver-haired guy simply nodded back. "When are we leaving tomorrow?" He then asked. "They said something about 8, I think…" Jaden trailed off.

With another nod, the guy's blue eyes landed on me. A frown appeared on his face. He then walked away without another word. "I'll be back soon." I told Jaden while standing up. Without waiting for an answer, I raced after Aster Phoenix.

I still hadn't forgot how he had lied to me… And I wanted to know why he was frowning at me like that!

"Aster Phoenix!" I shouted, just as he was going downstairs. The professional duelist turned around to look at me. The moment his eyes met mine, he frowned yet again. "Yes?" He asked shortly. "Care to explain why you lied to me about not being in contact with Sartorius?" I demanded with a glare, walking over to where he was.

"Why does that concern you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. My blood started boiling immediately. First, he had audacity to lie to me, and now he was like 'why do you care'… "Because I hate being lied to. You just happened to lie about not being in contact with your _manager_." I replied icily. "_Former _manager." Aster Phoenix corrected me with a frown.

I briefly looked at him surprised before glaring yet again. I didn't care about what the heck was going on between those two, I just wanted to know why he had lied to me!

"You still lied." I reminded. "Why do you want to know that?" "I've already told you." I retorted. "I want to know the _real reason_." Aster Phoenix folded his arms, looking me in the eyes. "In fact, how do you know Sartorius?" He then questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I was completely caught by surprise. He busted me right there… But, then again, how _wouldn't _he? He's seen me with Ben in Sartorius' house a year ago, I was asking him about Sartorius, and was now angry about being lied to… It wasn't that hard to figure it out. I was so stupid!

On one side, I wasn't sure whether I should tell this to the person who had lied. But, on the other hand, he knew Sartorius too… The only thing we had in common, from what I could see. For some reason, I felt like I could trust him because of that…

"How about we get away from the dorm first?" I suggested with a frown. "As long as you tell me, I don't mind." Aster Phoenix shrugged. I started walking towards the forest. The duelist was next to me, with hands in pockets of his pants.

Once we were near the entrance to the forest, I stopped. "I didn't want anyone else to hear, that's why we're here." I spoke up. "I figured." The silver-haired guy commented. "Now, will you tell me?" He then raised an eyebrow.

Looking down, I took a deep breath. "Sartorius and his sister Sarina used to look after me when I was small," I looked up. "That's how I know him." I finished, looking right into the duelist's blue eyes. "That means you're friends?" He raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head immediately. "I've always considered him a surrogate father, not a friend. He's been in my life more than my own father has." I explained with a frown. It was quiet for a few moments. Aster Phoenix was looking at me with what seemed to be a look of realization. "So, _you_'re that girl." He finally said.

"What?" I asked a bit surprised. "Sartorius used to mention you indirectly a few times." The silver-haired guy said curtly. "Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "In which circumstances?" I then asked. "Anyway," He spoke up, completely ignoring my question. "The reason why I wanted to duel you was because he told me so."

That sentence caught me by surprise. I had absolutely no idea why Sartorius had wanted that… First he wanted Aster Phoenix to duel me, and then he went around threatening me? What in the world was going on here?!

"Why?" I questioned with a frown. "I don't know." The professional duelist replied with a frown of his own. "But I do know you and Hassleberry didn't join the Society Of Light when you lost the duel against him. That usually doesn't happen." He then spoke up.

"Wait, you know about our duel?" My eyes widened. "You weren't exactly tactful about it once you were angry with Sartorius. I saw and heard everything." Aster Phoenix pointed out.

If that were the case, then I was so stupid…

"You never told me how you two know each other." I then reminded with a frown. The duelist remained quiet for a few moments. "He used to be my manager, that's how." He replied curtly. However, I could tell he was lying. There was more to that… Why didn't he want to tell me?! I already did the same thing…

"Why are you lying?" I demanded. "What makes you think I'm lying?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's obvious." Without another word, Aster Phoenix started walking away from me.

I was looking at his disappearing form with a frown. I've met someone else who knew Sartorius, sure… Except that he said so little!

He had a point though, I had to admit. For some reason, I didn't go insane like others have after I had lost that duel. I didn't know why… I didn't even know what Sartorius wanted with me. First he told someone to duel me, then threatened me, and didn't want to duel me until I forced him… This was all so confusing!

Wait, why was I even bothering with this in the first place?! I've already assured myself forgetting about everything was the best thing to do… No reason to worry and think about someone who would only hurt you!

'_Serena, I'm not insane.' _Words from few days ago were echoing in my head yet again. I grabbed my head and groaned in annoyance. How was I supposed to forget everything if those words kept appearing in my mind?!

I quickly raced to the Slifer Red dorm, hoping a conversation with Jaden would help me get my mind off the crazy sect, my cousin and Sartorius.

**Third Person's POV**

It was a warm afternoon in Domino City. Most of people were in center of the city, and enjoying the beautiful day. Its harbour, on the other hand, had ships, and barely any people. One exception was a woman.

She was standing near the edge of water. The woman wore red and white ceremonial clothes. Her dark purple eyes were looking over the horizon. Wind was blowing, moving her long, dark hair in process.

"We're here." A male voice spoke up, making the woman turn around. Two people were standing in front of her. Both of them wore long, white capes, to cover their appearance. "Everything is going according to the plan?" The man under the cape asked.

The dark-haired woman nodded. "He says they should be arriving at the Domino City tomorrow." She confirmed coldly. "That means it's only a matter of time until we attack…" A female voice spoke up. The woman's eyes widened slightly as they moved over to the white cape. "Yes… You're correct." She managed to keep her cold tone, despite her astonishment.

"He told me to remind you of your mission." The man under the cape then told the woman, handing her something. She looked at the knife in her hands. Then she quickly put it behind her back, trying to remain calm. She knew exactly what they wanted her to do with that knife…

"If it's a problem for you, I could do it instead." The woman under the cape spoke up, making the dark-haired woman's eyes widen in shock. However, she quickly managed to switch back to her cold expression. "No, Master said we should remain hidden until now. She should do it." The man under the cape reminded.

The woman under the cape sighed. "Too bad… I was really looking forward to a little reunion…" She trailed off sarcastically, playing with cards in her hand. The dark-haired woman could see some of them, including a monster called a Fire Salamander.

"Since you're going to do that already, can you at least promise me it will be suffering?" The woman under the cape asked the other woman. She didn't know what to say at those words, which was why she remained quiet. That was when the man and the woman under the cape started laughing. The dark-haired woman looked at both of them coldly before looking towards the horizon.

**Well, finally done with this chapter! Next time, it's finally the Domino City trip, and I just can't wait! I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	23. Old Friends

**Well,**** here's the next chapter!**

**This chapter takes place during 'Taken By Storm', and briefly during 'J-Dawg and T-Bone'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_You're… You're sure that's what you saw?" A female voice asked, trembling. "You should know better than anyone I'm not joking." A male voice replied seriously. "I just don't know what to do…" The voice then sighed. "I don't understand why you saw that." The female voice spoke up uncertainly. "I'd already seen similar things before, remember?" The male one reminded gravely. "It never went this far!" She responded in astonishment._

"_You know…. You know we can't choose what we want to see." "So, you're willing to agree with what you had seen?" The female voice asked quietly. "I don't want it… But you and I know everything we had seen happens." The male one pointed out with a sigh. "I know, it just sounds horrible… Letting it happen without doing something is even worse." She stated._

"_But going against…" He stopped, letting out a quiet gasp. "Even though I think it's impossible... What if…" "What if what?" The female voice cut the other one off. "What if we tried cheating fate?" The male one spoke up. It was quiet for a few moments. "Do you think that's possible?" The female one asked. "There has to be a way, if we want to avoid this…" _

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" My alarm could be heard. As soon as I heard it, I shot up in my bed in panic. Shaking my head to get back to senses, I let out a sigh. Everything dawned in on me at that moment. Today was the day of our field trip. Today, we were going to Domino City.

I jumped out of the bed with feelings of both excitement and panic washing over me. As much as I was looking forward to this, I was also afraid of being late! What if they left without me in case I didn't show up in time?! I certainly didn't want that.

As soon as I brushed my wild, red hair, I jumped towards my uniform. I put it on and tied the Deck Box to the right side of my waist. After checking whether everything I needed was in my suitcase and backpack, I raced towards the mirror.

From what I could see, I looked presentable, apart from my crazy hair… It still looked as messy as ever. I let out a sigh and looked down in disbelief. Of course… No matter how much I was used to it, it still managed to annoy me!

I looked up, playing with one of my hair strands. I just hoped people wouldn't think of me as a witch, or something…

_Someone kept running a hand through my hair, making it even messier. "Hey, stop ruining my hair!" I shouted with a laugh. "But your hair is messy already, Serena." The boy pointed out, trying to sound serious. However, I knew he was only pretending. And yes, he was failing miserably at sounding like that._

"_That's not a reason to ruin it even more!" I exclaimed while trying to get his hand off my hair. Unfortunately, I was unable to do so, since he kept running his hand through it. He didn't say anything for a few moments. I smiled at him, grabbing the hand in process. Finally, he would stop ruining my hair for at least a few seconds!_

"_I've never seen hair as red as yours." He told me cheerfully. I let out a chuckle. "And I've never seen hair as unruly as yours." I replied. "You mean, yours?" He corrected me. "No, yours!" I replied with a laugh. "Yours!" He argued. "Oh, you asked for it!" I finally exclaimed and jumped on him._

_As soon as I was on top of the boy, I started running a hand through his soft hair. "How does it feel like to have your hair ruined now?" I asked playfully with a smirk. "Don't think this is over!" He replied mischievously, his hand reaching out to me. Soon after, he was running a hand through my hair as well. _

_He then tried to push me off him, but I was fast as well. As soon as I was on the ground, I pushed him as well, so we were rolling around and laughing._

I backed away from the mirror, wide-eyed. Since I pretty much didn't notice bed was behind me, I fell on it in process. I grabbed my head, trying to process what I had just remembered.

While I did appreciate some of my memories were coming back, them returning so suddenly could really shock me… Sometimes, it would take me a while to get back to my senses.

I quickly took off my left glove to look at the bracelet on my wrist. It was so simple, yet it apparently meant so much… It's been my charm for luck ever since my parents forced me into Duel Academy. It was also something I didn't know much about, yet my parents did… Mum even tried to take it from me! She was damn determined to do so; it was only luck Dad told me I could keep it.

Aunt Maria also knew about it… It was a gift from a boy who kept appearing in my memories. That explained why I had the urge to wear it despite my dislike for _Duel Monsters_. Even though I didn't remember it, my subconscious was most probably aware of what this object had meant to me earlier… According to what I had found out, he used to be my _friend_…

I could remember it clearly now. The boy used to like messing up my hair because he knew it would sometimes annoy me. I would do the same to him. While I couldn't remember what he looked like, I knew his hair was really soft…

I really hoped our trip to Domino City could clear up some things concerning my amnesia. That was the city where all those memories took place after all! It's where I had grown up before my parents and I moved away!

Sitting up, I quickly checked my backpack to see whether my pictures were still in there. Thankfully, I hadn't forgot them.

After putting on my glove and red boots, I took my suitcase. I then slung the backpack over my right shoulder and walked out.

* * *

By the time I arrived where boats usually were, I could see a lot of people. Most of them were members of Society Of Light. No, wait. _Two thirds _of people there consisted of them…

I looked around, trying to see familiar faces. Since Jaden, Bastion, Syrus and Hassleberry were some of only sane people here, I hoped I could at least find them. Even seeing Aster Phoenix meant something! Apparently, he was a student here as well. Jaden told me so yesterday when I returned.

However, I couldn't see anyone. Instead, my eyes landed on something else. Chazz, Alexis and Ben were talking to Sartorius about something. They technically _were_ familiar faces, but not the ones I wanted to see…

I must have been staring for too long because they stopped talking. Then, _all of them _looked in my direction. Chazz had a scowl on his face, so did Alexis. Ben sent me a glare and looked away, while Sartorius' cold look was directed _right _towards me.

Feelings of fear washed over me. My heart started beating faster in sudden panic. Chazz and Alexis not being happy with seeing me was expected. Ben being hateful towards me hurt, even though I got used to it by now. But Sartorius looking directly at me scared me so much at that moment…

How wouldn't it? He's threatened me twice so far… Did I want to be near someone who wanted to cause me harm? _No_. In fact, I didn't want to have anything to do with him!

I quickly looked away, squeezing my eyes shut. I then quickly started walking away from them. However, I didn't watch where I was going because I bumped into someone. "You've got to watch where you're going, soldier." A familiar voice spoke up, making me open my eyes in surprise.

Looking up, I could see Hassleberry frowning at me. "Sorry." I apologized. He simply nodded back. That was when Bastion, Syrus and Jaden walked over to us. "You're ready for the trip?" Jaden asked me with a grin. I simply nodded back with a small smile.

While talking to him certainly lifted up my spirits, I was still nervous being around a group of people (even more now that I knew my lack of socialization led to my awkwardness) …

"I can't wait for us to arrive." Syrus spoke up. "It's going to be an interesting trip…" Bastion nodded. "Where are Crowler and Bonaparte?" Jaden then asked in confusion. "There they are, Sarge." Hassleberry pointed somewhere. We looked in that direction to see Crowler and Bonaparte running over. Both of them were holding suitcases in their left hands respectively (Bonaparte also had a megaphone in his right one).

Students moved out of the way so two men could walk to the center of our meeting place. As soon as they out their suitcases down, Bonaparte lifted up the megaphone. _"Attention! All students of Obelisk dorm, head to the bigger ship." _He pointed at the ship on our left. _"The rest of the students, head to the smaller one." _The French man pointed at a boat on our right.

All of the members of the Society Of Light started walking towards the bigger, white ship. I turned around to look at our small, simple boat. Seeing there were less Slifer Red and Ra Yellow students, I guessed we could fit in…

I took my suitcase and started walking towards the boat. As soon as I was inside, I sat on a bench next to the window. I also put the backpack on the floor in front of my feet. Now I could watch waves during the sail, and try to enjoy this trip…

The guys walked in as well. Jaden sat next to me, on my left. Bastion sat next to him. Hassleberry sat on a bench right across me. Syrus frowned, looking between Jaden and me back and forth for a few moments. Finally, he sat down next to the guy. I briefly glanced at the short guy in confusion and then at Jaden who had a relaxed look on his face.

I didn't understand what that frown was for…

"How long is the trip supposed to last anyway?" Hassleberry questioned while stretching out his legs. I quickly moved my backpack under my feet, so he wouldn't accidentally kick it. "Two and a half hours, I believe." Bastion spoke up with his arms folded. "Then that means we'll be there at half past ten." Syrus spoke up with a smile.

Whatever the deal had been before, it seemed like he had forgot about it…

"I can't wait." Jaden grinned, putting hands behind his head. He and the other guys soon found themselves in a lengthy conversation. They seemed to be pretty excited about the trip…

I, on the other hand, stayed quiet. The thing was, even though I promised I'd try to talk to people more… I was feeling awkward right now. Firstly, because I didn't know what to talk about. I didn't know much about Domino City, and I didn't exactly want to tell them about my memory problem…

Besides, it's only miracle I found something I could talk to Jaden about. Before, I hadn't felt so embarrassed since I didn't really bother what others thought about me. I came to respect them, and tried to communicate… But now, I really knew I wanted to do it more often, even if it was with only one person. Being here with four guys made me feel overwhelmed with embarrassment.

"What are you looking forward to seeing in Domino City?" Jaden suddenly asked me. My eyes landed on him, before briefly moving towards other three guys. They seemed to still be in the middle of the conversation.

I turned a bit around so I could look at the brown-haired guy better. "I don't know much about Domino City. I just want to see my hometown." I replied honestly. "Wait, your hometown?" Jaden asked in surprise. "I was born there, and I lived in that place until I was six. We then moved away to Rome for a while, before my parents decided to come back to Japan." I explained with a nod.

If I really wanted to try to spend time with someone, I figured briefly telling him my backstory wouldn't be so bad. I didn't bring up my amnesia after all!

"Oh yeah, I remember. You said you had lived in Domino City." The brown-haired guy commented sheepishly. "But where did you move then? I ran into you in that card shop…" He pointed out. "Nagoya." I responded. "That's where I live as well!" Jaden grinned. I blinked at him in surprise.

All this time, we lived in the same city? I didn't even know that… Since my parents moved back to Nagoya a month ago, that meant I technically still lived there. Aunt and Uncle had a house there as well.

"I didn't know that." I admitted sheepishly. "I mean, I guessed you lived nearby once I ran into you, but I wasn't sure… Plus, I hoped I wouldn't see you again back then…" I blurted out. "Did I anger you that much?" Jaden demanded in surprise. I simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"Why did you choose Domino City for the trip?" I then spoke up. "That's where Yugi Muto lives," He smiled. "Besides, my dad's from there. We used to live in that city too." By now, I was staring at him in surprise.

He lived in Nagoya, and used to live in Domino City just like me?! What kind of coincidence was this?!

"Wait, you used to live there as well?" I asked astounded. That earned me a nod. "We moved away about ten years ago." "How old are you?" I asked immediately. "16. You?" Jaden asked as well, putting hands behind his back. "Same." I responded. "When's your birthday?" "On 15th July." I said. "Yours?" "On 31st August." He smiled.

I let out a small laugh. "We used to live in same town, live in the same one even now… We are in the same dorm at same school, and our birthdays are month and a half apart? What a coincidence…" I commented in disbelief. "Are you sure we hadn't run into each other before you got angry with me in that shop?" Jaden asked with a sheepish grin.

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, a frown appeared on my face. There… There was something about them that I couldn't get out of my head… _'Are you sure we hadn't run into each other before you got angry with me in that shop?' _I could hear the words echoing in my mind.

"Hey, I was just joking." Jaden told me, apparently noticing my frown. "No, it's fine." I responded, putting on a smile not to get him upset.

Before anyone could say anything else, Hassleberry asked Jaden something. I looked at the brown-haired guy while my back was against the window. That way, I could see him better from here. A smile was across his face. His hair looked as unruly as always, and…

Wait. Did I say _unruly_? For some reason, I was feeling weird. It was as if I had felt some sort of… Recognition? Familiarity? I couldn't get rid of that feeling, even if I wanted to! That word just couldn't leave my mind, just like I couldn't take my eyes off the person next to me.

Why did I use that word to describe Jaden's hair? I mean, it technically _was _unruly, but 'messy' could have worked as well! At that moment, I felt this sudden urge to do something I'd most probably regret.

Before I could think it through, I lifted up my left hand. Seeing the others were still talking, I started running through Jaden's hair. A quiet gasp escaped from my mouth at how soft it was.

'_I've never seen hair as red as yours.' 'And I've never seen hair as unruly as yours.' _Those two voices were echoing in my head. Honestly, it made me stop breathing for a few moments. Why did that memory keep popping up in my mind all of a sudden?

"What are you doing?" Bastion's astonished voice brought me back to reality. I looked up slowly. Syrus, Bastion and Hassleberry were staring at me (with Syrus and Hassleberry gaping too). It was then I realized my hand was still going through Jaden's hair. My eyes quickly turned to the person in question. He was staring at me as well, and I could have sworn his cheeks were a bit red.

Finally, what I had just done hit me. I started running a hand through someone's hair without asking them and without a good reason! How much of an idiot could I be?! I've never felt so embarrassed (apart from the time I walked in on Hassleberry and Syrus) …

"Sorry." I quickly said after clearing my throat. I then pulled my hand away, folding both of my arms. Not wanting to see their reactions, I quickly turned towards the window.

That way I could hopefully avoid all the embarrassment… I didn't even know why I did that! They were sure going to think I was some sort of a moron!

For some reason, even more familiar feelings washed over me. No matter how weird and insane it sounded, running a hand through Jaden's hair like that wasn't strange to me at all. It felt natural, as if I had already done it before…

"_How does it feel like to have your hair ruined now?" I asked with a smirk while running a hand through someone's soft hair._

Suddenly, realization hit me. This wasn't the first time something similar to those memories happened.

One of first things Jaden asked me yesterday was whether anyone else in my family had red hair too. The boy from my memory stated he had never seen anyone with hair as red as mine. That wasn't the only similarity. I had just run a hand through the guy's hair as if I had done it several times before. It _was _something I had done in that memory… Plus, I called his hair unruly. I had done the exact same thing before… His words triggered one memory from when I was in first grade. He had even said something I could have sworn I'd already heard before.

Jaden said he used to live in Domino City… His parents knew something about Italian culture, and those feelings of recognition just kept popping up. The boy loved dueling, so did Jaden…

Could it mean… Could it mean that _Jaden _was that boy?! It would definitely explain all the coincidences, and feelings of familiarity… It would also explain why I felt more comfortable with him than with other people at the Academy. Of course, you'd feel more comfortable with someone you had already met before!

Breathing became harder as that idea slowly sunk in. It made sense… But it was just a theory! I didn't remember anything else to actually confirm it!

Letting out a deep breath, I managed to calm myself down a bit. At the same time, I was forming a plan in my mind. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Jaden now talking to the rest of the guys.

I couldn't just ask him whether he was a boy from my memories or not… It would sound insane. I had no proof, nor did I remember him! If I _did _find something in Domino City, then I would confront him about it… Until then, I'd stay quiet.

* * *

I got off the ship with the backpack over my right shoulder. The guys were already outside, with Syrus and Hassleberry helping Bastion (who got seasickness a while ago).

"May I have your attention, _s'il vous plait_, it's time to review our schedule!" Bonaparte said through his megaphone. The guys started walking closer to Crowler and the French man (who was standing on the metal part to which their ship was tied to by a rope). I followed them from behind.

"I beg your pardon, but my dorm and I have our own agenda today!" Sartorius spoke up, making Bonaparte glance at him surprised. I backed away a bit, wanting to keep a good distance from the leader of the sect. I mean, he was literally only a few meters across us! Thankfully, I managed to hide behind Bastion and Hassleberry.

"Now, if you'll excuse us…" "But regulations clearly said that…" Bonaparte started, only to be cut off. "Good day, Sir." With those words and a slight bow, Sartorius and the rest of the society members started walking away. I was peeking at their disappearing forms from behind Hassleberry's left shoulder. I felt so relieved they were gone…

Regulations clearly said that they didn't give a damn about following the rules… But as long as that meant they would be far away from me, then good for them!

As soon as they left, Crowler and Bonaparte turned around to look at five of us. "Well, I'm _not _babysitting _them_. That much, I can tell you." The former commented, making me frown. _Babysitting_? What were we, ten?!

"Don't look at me." Bonaparte agreed. "You're on your own! If you need me, I'll be back at the hotel!" Crowler declared before walking away. "Me too. Room service, here I come!" Bonaparte jumped off the metal part and followed the taller man. I scowled at them.

Not that I wanted to be babysat, but if anything happened to us, _they _would be responsible for the consequences… We weren't of age yet!

"Well, this is just great. Abandoned in an unknown city." Bastion pointed out sarcastically. "Who cares? We don't need those guys holding us back!" Hassleberry replied. "Exactly. We've got to make the most of this!" Jaden smiled.

Syrus and Hassleberry then each took out a guidebook. Meanwhile, Aster Phoenix walked up to us. "Aster, tell me, what's Sartorius planning to do? You must know something, after all, he's your manager, isn't he?" Bastion asked the professional duelist. "Not anymore." He frowned.

The moment I heard Sartorius' name, I started backing away. I was in Domino City. I was here to find out more about my past. I _didn't give a damn _about what the heck Sartorius wanted to do, nor did I want to think about him! Seeing they were discussing that subject, I wanted to just get away. The less I heard about that man, the better!

"Serena, where are you going?" Jaden spoke up before I could walk away from them. Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastion and Aster Phoenix looked at me as well. The three guys were confused, while the professional duelist frowned at me. "I'm going to check out something here."

"Well, why don't you come with us?" Hassleberry raised an eyebrow. "What I want to see is… Personal." I explained. "Oh." The four of them nodded. Aster Phoenix, on the other hand, kept frowning. "Then we'll see you later?" Jaden smiled. I simply nodded, not knowing what to say to his question.

By now, I was aware that he could be my former neighbor from here. But, now I didn't know how to act around him without seeming suspicious…

"Have a nice city tour!" I said to all of them.

With those words, I ran off.

* * *

I walked down a long street while looking around. Seeing I was without a guidebook, I wanted to buy one here. Even better, if it had pictures, maybe I could compare them to ones I had in my backpack… Then I could recognize where they had been taken!

Suddenly, I could see a stand with guidebooks on my right. I raced to it immediately and grabbed one guidebook. I started looking through it. It seemed to be the biggest out of guidebooks here… The more information it had, the better.

Without a second thought, I walked inside and paid for it. "Do you happen to know a good nearby café?" I asked while taking the guidebook in my hands. "There is one, just down the street on your left. It's hard to miss it." The shop owner smiled. "Thank you." I nodded. "Enjoy your stay in Domino City!" He waved cheerfully. I nodded to him with a smile and walked out.

* * *

I managed to find that café. Once I sat there, I ordered a freshly-squeezed orange juice. As soon as the waiter walked away, I took out my guidebook and the envelope with pictures.

The first picture was of my four-year old-self and Aunt Maria at some sort of a square. She was holding me in her arms and waving at the camera. The other ones were of me at various places I couldn't recognize… But I was about five or six there, that was clear.

Just as the waiter brought me the juice, I started looking at pictures in the guidebook. From what I could see so far, only one place resembled a picture I had… The one with me and my aunt. It was a place called Domino City Plaza.

I quickly drank the juice and asked for the bill. While I was waiting for it and putting the pictures back in the envelope, my excitement grew even more. It was true I couldn't figure out much about locations because my parents would get suspicious, this square was better than nothing!

"Do you happen to know where Domino City Plaza is?" I asked the waiter after paying. He nodded. It's about twenty minutes from here. Keep going down the street, then turn left. Walk along, then turn on first right. It should be at the end of the street." He explained. I thanked him and stood up, getting ready to leave.

* * *

I was walking down the long street on the way to Domino City Plaza. For a street, it looked quite pretty. There were a lot of cherry blossom trees. Unfortunately, since it wasn't time for them to bloom during winter, there were no leaves on branches at all. Too bad, since I wished I could see them in full bloom…

Walking up to one tree, I touched it slowly. From what I could see so far, Domino City was a nice place. Even though I couldn't remember it, there was this atmosphere of familiarity…

"_When are Mama and Papa coming home?" My eight-year-old self asked Sarina while we were walking down the street with cherry blossom trees. She kneeled down to look me in the eyes. "They should be home soon, dear." She responded with a small smile. "But it's been far too long since I last saw them!" I exclaimed._

_Sarina let out a sigh. "I know. They're quite busy." I looked down, tears threatening to start streaming down my cheeks. "Hey," She lifted up my chin with a smile. "They'll be back. There's no need to shed tears." "But when? The last time I saw them was a year ago!" I asked, trying to brush off my tears._

_The woman's eyes widened slightly. "Where did you hear that?" She asked in surprise. "I heard you and Sartorius talking about it last night." I admitted quietly. "Oh." She then put a hand on my shoulder. "I promise they'll be back soon, dear." She smiled. I hugged her, only to be hugged back as well._

I stood still for a moment, trying to process what I had just remembered. But then, another memory came…

_Wind started blowing, making some cherry blossom petals fall off trees. "They're so pretty!" My five-year-old self squealed, jumping up and down in excitement. "You like them?" Sartorius asked. "Yes!" I squealed yet again._

_Seeing one tree branch was near my reach, I ran to it. I started jumping towards it, trying to pick the branch with flowers… But I couldn't reach it! I was too short… Seeing I couldn't get it like that, I was about to try to climb up the tree…_

_When I was grabbed by my right arm gently, preventing me from climbing. "What are you doing?" Sartorius asked me, just as my left hand let go of the tree. I turned around to look at him. "I can't reach that branch," I pointed up. "So I wanted to climb the tree to pick it!"_

"_I see, but climbing up that tree could only get you hurt." He told me gently. "How else am I supposed to get the branch then?" I asked quietly. "I can pick it, since I can reach it." He stood up from the kneeling position._

_I watched as the man picked the branch with his right hand. He then turned around, and gave it to me. I looked at the branch. It had many pretty flowers on it…_

"_Thank you!" I then cried happily, hugging the man. After a few moments, I was hugged as well. _

By now, I was staring at the ground with hands on my head.

No matter how many times the memories came back, they always caught me by surprise… I could remember those two things clearly by now.

Letting out a sigh, I looked up at the tree. I should have known avoiding the topic with Sartorius would be pretty much impossible. I should have known trying not to think about him would be freaking useless. I literally walked down these streets with him and Sarina as a kid, they were a part of those memories too!

While I knew when those two memories took place, one thing was both clear and unclear to me. Back when I was eight, I told Sarina I hadn't seen my parents for a year… That took place here in Domino City. It was the very same street I was in right now.

But, from what I had been told, we moved away from Domino City when I was six… Why did my parents and Aunt lie to me? Memories of us moving away to Rome were quite hazy…

Too bad I couldn't ask anyone about it. I didn't dare tell my parents about this, and my aunt was missing… Uncle didn't talk to anyone right now, and Ben had never been in Domino City until today… Sarina and Sartorius must have known what happened, based on that memory. Except that I couldn't ask them either, since the former was missing while the latter had gone insane… _Che bello_… _Beata me!_

What was that about me not seeing my parents for a year anyway? It certainly explained why their absence when I was small felt longer than it actually had been… But I didn't understand why. What were my parents so busy with that I couldn't see them for a year?

Knowing that I would probably never get an answer to that question, I let out a sigh and looked at my left hand.

Things were so different back then… Wherever Sarina was, I hoped she was fine. Was she even aware of her brother's insanity?

"Sartorius, what made you go insane?" I wondered aloud, leaning against the tree by now. _'You're still trying to convince yourself in that 'insanity' thing?' _My other part asked me unimpressed. _'I'm not trying to convince myself; I know that's the case. And I will keep thinking so until you find me a logical explanation for his behavior. First he's kind, then I don't see him for more than a year, and BAM! He comes back as a leader of a __**sect**__, supports my cousin's hatred for me, hates me as well, threatens me, and…' 'Alright, you made your point!' _

'_But you know that's not the case. He said so himself.' 'Do you really believe in those words?!' 'Deep down, you know they're true.' _The other part spoke more firmly this time. _'Serena…' 'No.' _I shook my head firmly.

I then started pacing back and forth, with hands still on my head. "Forget about Sartorius and his crazy sect, forget about Sartorius and his crazy sect…" I kept repeating to myself firmly. But, for some reason, I just couldn't. Why?!

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked, interrupting my pacing. I quickly turned around in surprise. Aster Phoenix was in front of me with his arms folded. A frown was on his face. "No offense, Phoenix, but it's personal." I responded.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Then next time, solve your personal problems somewhere else, _not _where _everyone_ can hear you." "I may have picked a bad place for it, but it's still personal." I replied coldly.

"It's about Sartorius, isn't it?" Aster Phoenix gave me a knowing look, as if he were daring me to respond to that statement. "Where did you get that idea from?" I straightened up and frowned at him. "I _happened _to hear you saying 'forget about Sartorius and his crazy sect' at least five times before you noticed me." The silver-haired guy pointed out, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I glared at the professional duelist who had a nonchalant look on his face. "That's why you're trying to forget about him and the Society Of Light, isn't it?" "Excuse me?" I demanded angrily. "You're _scared _of Sartorius." He concluded.

"Say that again." I growled immediately while my heart was beating faster in panic. "You're scared of Sartorius." Aster Phoenix repeated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "_Not _true!" I growled yet again. "Maybe you can lie to others, but I can see through your facade."

"And just _where _did you get the idea that I'm scared of him?" I demanded while curling my hands into fists. "The look on your face when he grabbed you violently clearly showed fear," He started. "When he looked in your direction this morning, you walked away with the same look. When I mentioned him, you walked away, and now you're trying to forget about him to get rid of your fear. Is that enough proof for you?" He gave me a daring look.

I scowled. "That proves _nothing_." I spat. "Look," Aster Phoenix ignored my words. "Trying to forget about him and his society won't help you at all. You may think it will ease fear and pain, but it _won't_. What's happening right in front of you is _real_."

It _was_ truethat the more Sartorius treated me like that, the more scared I was of him. Not just scared. _Terrified_! If I could, I would _gladly _get off this island and not come back while he was around! But I didn't want anyone else to know that… Why did Aster Phoenix have to be so damn smart?!

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked coldly with my arms folded. "To let you know the truth. While I don't know what Sartorius is here for, he seems to want something from you. He's mentioned your name a few times." "_What _could he possibly want from _me_?" I frowned, still not understanding it. "I don't know. What I _do _know is fear _won't _help you. Your choice." He then started walking away.

I let out a groan and tugged at my hair out of nervousness. The only thing this conversation did was make me even more scared. Having a professional duelist tell you his manager wanted something from you was _not _comforting. That meant I could be Sartorius' target for all I knew!

By now, I was even more conflicted about everything. I was scared, convinced the man had gone insane, yet one part of me didn't believe that for some damn reason, and now Aster Phoenix had to bring up all of this… Why?!

I couldn't think about all of this right now, I just _couldn't_. I wanted to get away from it, and see Domino City peacefully… Was I asking too much?!

Taking a deep breath, I took my guidebook. I was trying to clear my mind and _not _think about what had just occurred. It would only bring me more stress, and fear… As long as I stayed away from Sartorius and that society, I'd be fine for the rest of the day.

* * *

Finally, I arrived at the end of the street. An open square was in my view. I walked towards it while looking around in amazement. The place was beautiful…

Domino City Plaza was surrounded by some buildings. I could even see a café there named 'Almondo'. At its center, was a giant clock on a pole inside a fountain. It was surrounded by a circle of bushes in flowerpots.

I walked closer towards the clock with a small smile. Right now, it was twelve o'clock…

"_Race you to the clock!" The boy declared as we were running around the square. "Hey, wait up!" I shouted with a laugh, racing after him. "Just watch where you're running, there are people in here!" I could hear Aunt Maria shouting after us._

I grabbed for a nearby flowerpot in astonishment. There it was, another memory… I had been here before, now I knew. But that still didn't help me. It didn't tell me who the boy was, nor could I remember what he looked like! I was still convinced it may have been Jaden, but I had no proof…

Suddenly, massive clouds appeared in the sky. For some reason, shivers ran down my spine. I had a feeling something was happening; I just didn't know what… And I wanted to avoid it. In fact, my common sense advised me to get away from the storm, and wait until it was over.

I ran towards that café.

* * *

By the time I came out of it, the storm finally disappeared. Thankfully, I managed to entertain myself inside with some ice-cream and reading the guidebook. The café looked awfully familiar as well, but I just couldn't remember it…

Seeing I didn't know about any other location, I decided to just look for those mentioned in the guidebook. One was this so called 'KaibaCorp' building. From what I read, KaibaCorp was a company run by a man named Seto Kaiba, who also owned the Duel Academy. I didn't read what the company was for, but I guessed it was for something concerning dueling since the man owned the Academy too.

The other place was called Kaiba Land. From what I understood, it was some sort of a theme park…

Since I didn't have anything else to do, I might as well check them out.

* * *

It was night time by the time I was walking near the seaside. After finding those two places, I just let my feet carry me. I ended up walking around the city the whole day, which I didn't mind at all. Taking a walk could clear your mind from all the problems…

Now I was trying to find our hotel. Since I didn't get to see the seaside, I decided to go past there on my way to the hotel.

To my surprise, I could see some tents set up downstairs, just by the sea. Some people were gathered around the fire as well. My eyes landed on red blazers most of them were wearing. That meant those were students from Slifer Red…

I decided to join them as well, seeing we were from the same dorm. Besides, maybe Jaden was there as well.

As soon as I ran down the stairs, my suspicions were confirmed. Jaden was indeed down there, and he wasn't alone. He was sitting on a log next to Atticus (who had a guitar in his hands), Bastion, and an old man with weird, spiky hairstyle.

"Look, there's Serena!" Atticus noticed me and pointed at me with a smile on his face. Bastion, the old man and Jaden looked up. "Hey, Serena." Jaden greeted with a small smile. "Is that another one of your friends?" The old man asked him, earning a nod from the brown-haired guy. "Where have you been?" Bastion raised an eyebrow.

"All around the city." I said simply. "Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked. "Well…" I trailed off for a few moments, wondering how to respond. "Partially." I finally said with a shrug.

That was when I noticed Jaden and some of the Slifer Red students were eating wrapped-up sandwiches. "Where did you get those sandwiches?" I asked because I could feel my stomach growling. "Here, take one." The old man offered me one. I took it with a smile. "Thank you, Mister… Mister…" I trailed off, realizing I didn't even know his name.

On the bright side, I couldn't embarrass myself with forgetting the name if I never heard it…

"Muto." Bastion stood up and whispered in my right ear. "_Grazie mille._" I whispered back with a nod, making the British guy smile. He then sat back on the log. "Mister Muto." I then told the man sheepishly. He let out a laugh in response.

I then unwrapped the sandwich and started eating it. Whoever made them was a genius, since it was _delicious_!

"Say, Serena," Bastion suddenly spoke up while I was still eating my sandwich. "Yes?" I looked up curiously. "I've noticed something… Peculiar I wanted to ask you about." He stated. I raised an eyebrow while taking another bite.

After swallowing it, I looked in the guy's grey eyes. "Go ahead." "During two events, when Sartorius' name was mentioned, you would react quite strangely," He started. Feelings of dread washed over me. I hoped this wasn't what I thought it was…

"What do you mean?" I asked, realizing his, Jaden's, and Atticus' eyes were directed right towards me. "When Chazz mentioned his name, you looked like you froze. The same thing has happened today, when Aster mentioned his name." Bastion continued. "Then when Sartorius appeared here, you ran out of the classroom, and Hassleberry even told me you had defended him once… And you were hiding behind Hassleberry and me today until the white dorm left…"

"And your point is?" I snapped, finally realizing where this was going.

Bastion's grey eyes looked right into my light blue eyes. "Serena, do you know Sartorius?" He asked.

The moment he said that, Atticus gaped at him, and then at me. Jaden's eyes widened slightly. And me? I was lost for words while gripping the wrap on the sandwich even more tightly. I'd finally been busted… I really had hoped they wouldn't figure it out, but it seemed I really had no luck…

I cleared my throat, trying to think of what to say. "What do you mean?" I said without thinking. "I think you understood the question very well, judging by your reaction." Bastion replied firmly.

Letting out a sigh, I realized there was no point in lying. He figured it out, and I didn't want to lie to only people I could be around during current circumstances…

"I _do _know him." I finally nodded. That earned me astounded looks from Atticus and Jaden. Bastion, on the other hand, frowned. "How, if I may ask?" "He and his sister used to look after me when I was small. They were there for me more often than my parents." I said simply. Three of them looked astonished yet again. "He has a sister?" Atticus gaped. I simply nodded.

"Had you known about the Society Of Light before he came?" The British guy asked. I shook my head. "I know about it as much as you." I responded honestly. "Did he act like this while looking after you as well?" Bastion raised an eyebrow. I shook my head immediately.

I wanted to avoid saying my opinion about how he had gone insane, since that would basically be badmouthing. No matter how crazy he was acting right now, he did _not _deserve it… That would be disrespectful of me as well.

He and Sarina didn't have to look after me at all, yet they did. He put up with some of my demands so many times while I was a kid, like when it came to constantly spinning me around in the air. I _couldn't _badmouth him, even if I wanted to.

"What was he like during that time?" Bastion continued questioning me. "He looked after me, even though he didn't have to." I responded coldly. If I said something else, then it would turn into badmouthing.

Seeing I wasn't going to tell him more about that topic, Bastion let out a sigh. "Thanks for telling us." I simply nodded back and took another bite of my sandwich.

That was when I noticed something. Syrus and Hassleberry were usually around Jaden… So where were they at the moment?

"Where are Syrus and Hassleberry?" I asked while looking around. I couldn't see them at all… Jaden let out a sigh. "They're missing." He told me. "What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow. "While we were taking the tour of the city with Mister Muto, he suddenly went missing. We split up to look for him," Bastion started.

"That was when today's storm started. Some Ancient Duel Monster Spirits appeared, guarding the city." Jaden then said with a frown.

I looked at him perplexed at the mention of 'spirits'. Had he hit his head somewhere? There was no such thing!

"We finally found Mister Muto, and ran into Aster. We saw Hassleberry's monster at the top of one building, so we raced to that place." Bastion continued. "That was when the storm disappeared, so did the spirits. But there was this guy named Frost waiting for us at the street. He knew where Syrus and Hassleberry were, but refused to tell us." Jaden jumped in.

"Jaden and I were about to go to White Dorm and demand where they were, when two guys showed up. One of them named T-Bone demanded to have a duel with Jaden." "Then some strange, violet light appeared, and the other one named Blaze disappeared…" Jaden added to Bastion's previous words.

I kept looking between them back and forth, trying to process everything. "Then we heard a woman's voice. It told T-Bone not to let her down, or else he'd end up like others." "Who was it?" I asked in confusion. "We don't know." Jaden sighed. "When Jaden won the duel, the guy disappeared in the same manner like the one before him." Bastion jumped in.

"We had no idea what was happening, which was why we raced to where the White Dorm was staying. They didn't treat us well," Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "And then Chazz showed up, telling us to be at Kaiba Land tomorrow." Bastion finished. My eyebrows furrowed.

Why would they want them to be at Kaiba Land? I didn't understand a thing…

"I was there a few hours ago." I then spoke up. "Have you seen Syrus and Hassleberry?" Jaden asked me hopefully. "No." I shook my head. He let out a sigh. "Then we need to wait until tomorrow." The British guy sighed as well. I stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. All of this was a lot to take in…

That was when several Slifer Red students ran past us. One of them accidentally knocked me to the ground in process. Suddenly, I could feel piercing pain coming from my left palm. I let out a scream since it hurt so much…

Looking up, I realized why it hurt so much. My left palm was a bit red in color, and my glove was completely burned from that side. While I was falling, my hand accidentally touched nearby fire…

"Serena!" Jaden got on his feet and jumped down to where I was. Bastion, Atticus, and Mister Muto gathered around us. "You burned your hand?" Jaden looked at it in realization. I nodded, still feeling pain. "Do we have first aid kit here?" I looked up at them.

Atticus nodded. "I'll go get it." He ran to one tent. "Serena knows how to treat wounds." Bastion explained to confused Jaden. "Oh." He said simply before nodding. "It doesn't look too bad. I think it's burn of first degree." Mister Muto spoke up. "They could have watched where they were going nonetheless…" I trailed off bitterly while looking at my hand.

"What matters is that you're fine." Jaden grabbed my right hand, the one that wasn't burned. I looked up at him in surprise. I still didn't know whether he was that boy… We haven't started on best of terms, yet he still wanted to talk to me even though I had treated him rudely, and now he cared about my wellbeing…

That was when Atticus returned with the first aid kit. "Thanks." I told him just as he put it down next to me. He nodded with a smile. Bastion then asked Mister Muto whether he knew where Kaiba Land was, and they started talking. Atticus walked up to them, listening to the conversation.

I took some ointment out of the first aid kit. "Do you need help?" Jaden asked while I opened it. "No, thanks." I shook my head with a small smile. I then put the ointment on my burned palm and started rubbing it against it.

Seeing he was still there, I decided to ask him something. "Say," I spoke up, making his brown eyes look at me directly. "Why was I so interesting to you when we first met? Why did you want to talk to me even though I was rude to you?" I knew Syrus had already told me some of it, but I wanted to hear it from the guy himself. Maybe his words could indicate something I had missed before…

"You seemed like a nice person." Jaden smiled. "Even though I was rude?" I raised an eyebrow. "It may seem funny," He let out a chuckle. "But I could tell you weren't like that in general. It was as if I had already known you from somewhere."

I stopped breathing for a few moments. He had just said it. He had just said he felt like he had already known me. Yet another coincidence…

Wondering what to say next, I started taking off my left glove. Since it had already been burned, there was no point in wearing it any longer. The same went for the right one. I would spend the rest of the trip without gloves, then ask for new ones once we returned to the Academy.

I was just about to put the glove away… When someone grabbed me by my left wrist.

Looking up in shock, I could see Jaden holding my wrist with his right hand. His left one was pointing at the bracelet I had. His eyes were wide. In fact, he couldn't take them off the bracelet at all.

"Where did you get that?" He looked up at me astonished. "I've had it with me since I can remember, but it's not until last year that I found it…" I managed to speak up, still surprised by his reaction. If he was reacting like this to a simple bracelet, then could that mean…

"Why?" I asked him. Jaden didn't answer. Instead, he turned it around. I didn't understand what he was looking at… "I used to have the same one, with exact same initials." He pointed at the back of the charm. I looked at it better. It had initials _S.A. _

How come I hadn't noticed it before? I've been wearing this thing for more than a year now!

"What makes you sure it used to be yours?" I spoke up. "People selling them would carve the owner's initials so they wouldn't lose it." He responded immediately. "I had it with me, until… Until…" He trailed off perplexed. After a few moments, a look of realization appeared on his face. "Until I gave it to…"

His chocolate brown eyes widened yet again. "Serena…" He trailed off once more. "Serena." He then said, as if trying to let something sink in. After a few moments, he finally looked up at me. "Serena." A huge smile was all over his face. "I gave it to _you_!" He spoke up happily.

I looked at him wide-eyed. Then that meant I was _right_; he _was _that boy…

Seeing I was still surprised, smile fell off Jaden's face. "You don't remember?" He asked. "I don't." I shook my head. While my theory was proven correct, that still didn't help since my memories were missing…

"Serena," He put hands on my shoulders with a smile. "It's me, Jaden! Your next-door neighbor and buddy from school!" "I believe you, but I really don't remember…" I spoke up with a sigh.

Jaden let go of my shoulders with a frown. After a few moments, another smile appeared on his face. Then he pulled up his blazer's right sleeve.

My eyes widened in surprise once I saw a bracelet on his right wrist. It looked _just_ like mine. "Now you'll never forget me, 'cause you'll always have it with you." He recited familiar words. I had definitely heard them before… I looked up to see Jaden's hopeful face.

But then, my vision changed. Instead of him, a small boy with unruly hair and chocolate brown eyes was grinning at me.

"_Hi." I greeted cheerfully, walking up to the boy's desk. He looked up at me nervously, not saying anything. "Did cat bite your tongue?" I asked. "I.. I…" He stammered. "Hey, I won't bite you, or something like that!" I let out a laugh. However, he was still quiet. I decided to walk closer to the desk. "I'm Serena," I offered my hand to the boy with a smile. "What about you?" "What about me?" He asked nervously. "What's your name?" I asked with a bigger smile. "I'm… I'm… I'm Jaden." He finally said, slowly grabbing my hand. "Well, Jaden, nice to meet you!" I grinned._

"_What's that?" I asked curiously, looking at the cards in Jaden's hands. "They're Duel Monsters." He looked up at me with a small smile. "Duel Monsters?" I tilted my head to left perplexed. "It's the best thing in the world!" He grinned. "Want to give it a try?" "I don't know how it works." I admitted. "I'll explain the rules." _

"_I'm gonna win this time!" Jaden shouted from behind me determinedly. "That's what you said the last time!" I laughed, still running from him with cards in my hands. "Well, I'm saying it again! If I'm going to lose to a girl, then let it be with honor and a good duel!" He shouted after jumping on me. I looked up, meeting his eyes. "You said you wanted to be the 'King Of Games'?" I rolled my eyes. "At this point, you sound more like the 'King Of __**Drama**__'." We burst in laughter._

"_You're my best friend." Jaden said while we were lying on grass. "You're my best friend too." I giggled. "We'll be best friends forever, won't we?" He asked slowly. "Yeah, forever!" I exclaimed excitedly._

"_I think I'm going crazy." I told Jaden with a frown. "Why?" He asked me curiously. "I… I keep some weird spirits whenever I take these things in my hand. It's scary." I explained uncertainly. Jaden started laughing. "Why's that funny to you? I wasn't joking!" I exclaimed. "I know you weren't." He told me reassuringly. "So you don't think I'm crazy?" I asked hopefully. "If you __**were**__, then I'd be as crazy as you." "Wait… That means…" "Yes, I can see them too."_

"_Let's have another duel!" Jaden shouted excitedly. "You said only one more, which ended with you winning. Now we're playing something else." I reminded pointedly. _

"_Happy birthday, Serena." Jaden offered me a small box and a birthday card. "What's that?" I asked curiously, opening the box. "I have the same one," He showed me the bracelet on his wrist with a smile. "Now you'll never forget me, 'cause you'll always have it with you!" I looked between our bracelets back and forth. "I love it! I'll never take it off!" I squealed, hugging him._

"_Serena, what do you suggest for cooking?" Aunt Maria asked while we were in the kitchen. "A difficult question, Aunt Maria…" I sighed. "Why?" Jaden asked in confusion. "Everything she cooks is good, that's why." I let out a laugh._

"_It's not always about winning or losing. It's about having fun." Jaden told me with a smile._

"_How does it feel like to have your hair ruined now?" I smirked, running a hand through his soft, unruly hair._

"_A good duelist can't use the same strategy over and over." Jaden explained cheerfully. "Aunt Maria told you that, didn't she?" I guessed. "Yes," He nodded. "You have the best aunt in the world." "I know, but I mostly think that because of her cooking, not dueling." I laughed. "Well, both! Beside her good cooking, she really taught me a lot about dueling… She's my role model." "She'd be glad to hear that." _

I grabbed my head as more memories started rushing back to my mind. I was staring at the ground and breathing heavily. There were so many of them, and they all made sense… I could remember them clearly. I could remember every detail, including how I felt back then…

Looking up at Jaden, feelings of joy and happiness overwhelmed me. At that moment, nothing else mattered. My younger self was at peace, now that I had memories of my best friend back.

"Jaden!" I cried with tears streaming down my cheeks. Without a second thought, I ran to the guy and pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged me back as tightly as I did. "I can't believe it's you!" I then exclaimed excitedly once we pulled away. "I can't believe it either!" He exclaimed as well with a grin, grabbing my hands.

By now, we were jumping around the fire in excitement. But I didn't care if the others noticed (which they most probably did, due to our shouting). I was feeling so happy right now that I didn't care about anything else in the world…

"How could I forget you?" "How could I forget you?" We asked each other at the same time. "How did this even happen?!" "How did this even happen?!" We exclaimed in unison. "Wait, stop," "Let me speak first," We said in unison yet again before laughing.

"WILL SOMEONE TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Bastion's shouting brought us back to reality. Looking at each other wide-eyed, Jaden and I turned around to look at Atticus, Bastion, Mister Muto and Aster Phoenix (didn't notice him coming over here) staring at us.

Bastion then cleared his throat. "Sorry for yelling, but you didn't hear us at all." "It's fine," I spoke up, only to be cut off. "The thing is," Jaden then started. "How about you calm down first?" Aster Phoenix suggested.

We looked at him before taking a deep breath. "Sorry." We apologized. "I'm just happy to see my best friend again." Jaden spoke up with a grin. "_Best friend_?" Bastion asked in surprise. "_Again_?" Atticus was astonished as well.

I nodded with a grin while my hand was over Jaden's shoulders. He had his own one over my shoulders as well.

However, before we could say anything else, violet light started shining.

"What's that light?!" I could hear Atticus asking as I covered my eyes. After a few moments, I took my arm off them since the light disappeared. Several mirrors appeared in the sky… "What's that?" Aster Phoenix demanded in astonishment. We walked closer to the rest of them, in case something happened.

Suddenly, one of mirrors changed. It showed a woman. My eyes widened once they landed on her long hair, and ceremonial clothes. I let out a gasp, realizing who it was. It was _Sarina_…

"_Jaden, that was a very impressive victory!" _She spoke up coldly. There was something about the look on her face that made shivers run down my spine. I've never seen her like that… _"You're quite powerful, now I can see why my brother is so interested in you..." _She smiled smugly. That meant she and Sartorius have been in contact all along…

"What do you want with me?!" Jaden demanded as she let out a low chuckle. I just couldn't say anything, I literally felt like I was frozen… First Ben, then Sartorius, and now her too?!

Two mirrors changed to show Hassleberry and Syrus sitting in some sort of glass things. _"You'd like to see them again? They're waiting for you." _Sarina said, with that smug look still on her face. _"And you too, Aster!" _She then added.

"Say what? Why me?!" Aster Phoenix demanded with a frown. _"For the test, of course. You see, Sartorius may have been wrong." _I had no idea what that meant, but apparently the silver-haired guy did. An astounded look was on his face. "Jaden's not the one?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"_That's what we're going to find out…" _Sarina looked at all of us directly. Then, her dark purple eyes landed on me. _"I'm waiting for you there as well, Serena…" _She told me with a smug smile.

I felt like I stopped breathing for a few moments. I was so scared at that moment…

"What for?!" I shouted, trying not to show fear in my voice. Unfortunately, I could hear it trembling. The response I got was another smug smile from Sarina. That was when all of the mirrors disappeared…

I grabbed Jaden's hand and held it for dear life. I really, _really _wanted to know what this was all about… What did Sartorius and Sarina want from me?! Was going to Kaiba Land a smart idea?! My fear was literally eating me up inside…

I looked up to meet Jaden's determined eyes. He looked at me determinedly. "We're going to save Syrus and Hassleberry." He declared. I simply nodded to him.

While I really did want to get away, and didn't want any part in this… Sarina wanted me to come for some reason. I wanted to know why. Both Aster Phoenix and Jaden were going there as well… If Jaden could go there, I could as well! I only hoped my fear wouldn't get the better of me…

**Well, kaboom! This was one of chapters I enjoyed writing the most, and I hope you liked it! Off to Kaiba Land next, where Sarina will hopefully spill the beans why she wants Serena there as well… Fingers crossed lmao.**

**The reason Aster told Serena what he had said is because he could relate to her in some way due to both of them knowing Sartorius. Just to clear that up. It's one of relationships I'm looking forward to writing as well, since they do have some things in common...**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, since it took me an eternity to plan and write it, especially with the revelation near the end. It's one of key chapters in this story, and from here, some major things will happen…**

**Words in Italian:**

**Che bello-How nice/wonderful;**

**Beata me-Lucky me;**

**Grazie mille-Thanks a lot.**

**Until next time! :)**


	24. Explanations

**Ghost Of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! Hahaha yes, about time, I believe… ;)**

**CrazyQuilava: Thank you for reviewing! Well yes, lmao, especially since Bastion and Atticus already don't understand a thing… Besides, this chapter is mostly about explanations, as the title says it! XD Hopefully, there'll be a moment where Ben or Jaden will explain all those things to her... Once she gets used to things around her, since she's not aware yet of the Light Of Destruction's existence at this point! ;) I'm glad you like what I did with her character, development and duels, since more is yet to come.. :) Thanks, stay safe out there too! :)**

**Nku: Thank you for reviewing, here's the next chapter! :)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! Well, yes, pretty much.. :)**

**Well, guys, on with the story!**

**I only own my OC's!**

It was quiet for a few moments.

"What are we waiting for?! We have to save them!" Jaden then pointed out with a frown, and was about to run… Only for Bastion and Atticus to grab him by one arm respectively. "Chazz said to be at Kaiba Land tomorrow, remember?" The British guy reminded. "Nothing works at this hour, not even Kaiba Land." The latter sighed.

Seeing Jaden wasn't struggling against their grip anymore, two guys let go of him. "Too bad…" Jaden let out a groan with hands in his hair. "It's only a few hours away." I reminded, putting a hand on his left shoulder. He looked up at me. "I know, but even that can be long." He sighed. "I wouldn't risk it with Kaiba Land's security." Mister Muto spoke up.

"Fine…" Jaden let out another groan. "It will pass quickly." I replied, trying to assure him.

While I wasn't really looking forward to going to Kaiba Land, Syrus and Hassleberry were Jaden's friends. They were in trouble right now. It was only logical Jaden would be upset and try to save them immediately.

The guy looked up at me. "Hopefully." He sighed.

That was when a smile appeared on his face. I was suddenly pulled into a warm hug. I let out a laugh and hugged him back. It felt like we were just standing there and hugging each other for what seemed to be eternity. I didn't want it to end…

At that moment, all feelings of worry were gone. Instead, I felt like my heart was about to burst with joy. Although I still couldn't believe this was possible… Who would have thought that Domino City would help me so much with recovering my memories?! I _had _hope, but never expected this much! All this time, my best friend and neighbor was right in front of me!

Earlier, I would have found the whole idea ridiculous. But now that I actually remembered him, everything was better. I haven't been so happy since… Since forever! Jaden was my only friend back then, and, now, I cherished every memory with him I had recovered…

"It still feels a bit surreal." I spoke up with a smile. "Do you have any idea," Jaden pulled away to look at me. "How happy I am to see you again? You've been here all along, yet I didn't know that!" He replied with a grin. "Hey, I didn't know it either! Granted, I had my suspicions this morning, but I wasn't sure until you showed your bracelet that I remembered…" I pointed out excitedly, grabbing my friend's hands. "What's more, it turns out Ben was right!" I then grinned as well, realizing my cousin's theory about him being on the island _was _true. If he hadn't gone insane, I'd probably be thanking him now…

Just as Jaden opened his mouth to say something else, I could hear someone clearing their throat.

"While I hate to interrupt whatever's going on," Bastion's voice started, making us turn around in his direction. "Would you mind explaining to us what this is all about?" He finished with a frown. "It would certainly make some things clearer." Atticus nodded, looking between Jaden and me back and forth.

"But I've already told you. I'm happy to see my best friend again." The brown-haired guy spoke up cheerfully. "I believe that's the unclear part to them…" Aster Phoenix trailed off with a frown and arms folded. He then walked away without another word. "He _does _have a point." Atticus spoke up. Both him and Bastion were looking at us astonished.

I let out a sigh and tugged at my hair. "Is it me, or are they convinced we're insane?" I asked Jaden quietly. "They have right to ask. It _is _kinda confusing." He replied with a shrug. I frowned for a moment, realizing he was right.

While I was happy that I had my memories back, I was still confused about the whole situation… I barely knew where we were, since Sarina's reappearance caught me off guard as well. A _lot _of things had happened today… The only thing I knew for sure was that I had memories of my best friend again, and that I was happy about it. Everything else was… _Quite _confusing.

"Fair enough." I muttered to him with a nod. "How about we all sit down first?" I then asked the two guys. "Sounds good to me." Atticus said while Bastion nodded.

Bastion and Atticus sat on one log across the fire. Mister Muto sat next to them, most probably confused with all of this as well. Jaden and I sat down on a log across them. Pharaoh walked up to where we were sitting, and sat down in between our feet. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see the cat waving with its tail.

"Well?" Bastion raised an eyebrow. I exchanged glances with Jaden. "How should we explain this?" I muttered to him. "One of us could start, and the other one could join in?" He suggested. Judging by the look on his face, he was as confused as me. "We could try that." I nodded since I didn't have any other ideas.

But we couldn't just straight out tell them we were friends from school and used to be neighbors… Then they wouldn't understand a thing. We had to ease them into the explanation, not just throw out facts! Everything had to make sense…

"I'll start first then." I told Jaden after a few moments. "Sure. I'll join in." He nodded with a small smile. I smiled back before looking back at Bastion and Atticus who were staring at us. Mister Muto, on the other hand, kept looking between all of us back and forth curiously. I cleared my throat, finally having an idea where to start.

"As you know," I started. "Ben and I are Italian. His father is my father's older brother. Both of them were born in Rome, and grew up there." I looked at Bastion and Atticus who simply nodded. From what I could see, they were listening to my every word. "My mother is from Rome as well." "But what does that have to do with…" Atticus started perplexed, only for Bastion to shush him.

Atticus frowned at him but stayed quiet. "Continue, please." The British guy then said, looking at me intently. I simply nodded. "Both of my parents found conditions for work and life in Japan better, which is why they decided to move there. They met each other in this city, and it's where I was born." I continued.

"You're from here?" Atticus asked in surprise, making me nod. "This is where I spent most of my childhood. My parents were busy with work so they couldn't look after me. That's why Sarina, Sartorius, and sometimes my aunt used to do so instead." "Sometimes?" Bastion raised an eyebrow. I nodded. "She's been working for Industrial Illusions since I was small. She just couldn't come here all the time, since Ben was young as well." I explained.

The Ra Yellow guy nodded in understanding. "I met Jaden," My eyes briefly landed on the person next to me. "When I was in first grade. We were in same class, and used to live in the same street." "Our houses were next to each other." Jaden corrected me. "_Grazie_." I nodded to him.

"So that means you're from here too?" Atticus demanded in surprise. Jaden nodded. "He's the one who introduced me to _Duel Monsters_, actually." I admitted. "Everyone used to play it at school, remember?" He reminded. I nodded back.

"Wait, wait," Bastion spoke up with a frown. "If you used to be so close… Then why were you hugging and shouting as if you hadn't seen each other for thousand years?" An even bigger frown appeared on his face after a few seconds. "In fact," His grey eyes landed on me.

"Why did you avoid talking to Jaden in the first place?" The guy's eyebrows furrowed.

I opened my mouth to say something… Only to close them. What was I supposed to say to that statement? He had a point there…

"That's where it gets confusing," Jaden spoke up sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Even though she did look kind of familiar, I couldn't remember Serena, nor anything concerning her up until now." "I couldn't remember anything about him either." I added. "You want to say you had amnesia?" Atticus asked in surprise. "If that's what you call it." Jaden let out a sigh.

"Do you know why?" Bastion demanded. I looked up for a few moments with a frown. Honestly, even though I remembered Jaden and time we spent as kids… That was all there was to it. When it came to other things, my mind was completely blank. I had no idea why we never stayed in touch. Heck, I didn't even know why I moved away!

"No." Jaden spoke up while I shook my head. "Well, that's… Interesting…" Bastion trailed off. "At least it makes sense why you tried to talk to her all the time. You had all of us confused…" He then mused. I looked up at Jaden, who put his arm around my shoulders.

Bastion let out a sigh. "You do know this is a lot to take in?" He then looked at us. "If it's like that for you, then how are we supposed to feel?" I frowned. "Everything is so confusing." Jaden admitted. "It will just take some time for us to get used to it." Atticus spoke up. "He's right." Bastion nodded in agreement.

"I also wanted to ask you something else." He then looked at me. "What?" I asked, straightening up. "When was the last time you had seen Sartorius and his sister, before he appeared here?" The British guy looked at me seriously. "I had to move so I could attend West Academy, so I technically haven't seen them for more than a year. That's also the last I heard of them, since they stopped calling, and answering my calls." I said simply. Bastion simply nodded to my words, with a finger on his chin and a frown.

Atticus then stood up. "I'm tired, so I'm off to bed. Good night." He waved and walked into one of tents. "Good night to both of you, and you, Mister Muto." Bastion said calmly. We watched as he entered another tent.

"It's getting late…" Mister Muto let out a yawn. He then looked at Jaden and me. "I can come tomorrow morning to show you the way to Kaiba Land." "Yes, please." Jaden smiled. "Then I'll be here in the morning." The older man smiled. "Sleep well!" He waved and started walking away. "Good night!" We waved back.

I was still rather confused about what had just happened… I wasn't even sure whether Bastion and Atticus believed us or not. What we had just told them _did _sound rather insane…

"What do you think? Did they believe us or not?" I asked Jaden quietly. "I don't know. They said they had to get used to it." He replied with a shrug. "Besides… They can think whatever they want."

"You're not worried about what they might think?" I asked a bit perplexed. "They asked for an explanation, and we told them the truth," The guy told me, putting arms behind his head. "What they think about it is not my problem."

I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had just said. He had a point there. Why should I bother about other people's opinions?

Finally, at that moment, everything that happened sank in completely. I was in Domino City. I was in my hometown, and I was reunited with my best friend from childhood. I partially recovered my memories. Sarina reappeared, and told us to go to Kaiba Land tomorrow…

Feelings of happiness washed over me once more. At that moment, I decided to push away our current problems. We had to wait until tomorrow after all… What I wanted was to catch up with Jaden as much as I could.

Suddenly, Pharaoh jumped into my arms and started purring. I let out a laugh and started petting the cat. "Pharaoh sure likes you." Jaden pointed out with a small smile. "And I like him." I responded with a smile of my own. "There's not an animal you _don't _like, Serena." He responded as if it was obvious. "And where did you get that from?" I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"When your aunt led us to the zoo, you couldn't get your eyes off snakes in there. She was near to having a heart attack." Jaden let out a laugh. I frowned for a moment, trying to remember what exactly he was referring to. While I did remember most of things now, sorting through all of those sudden memories was something I hadn't got used to…

"_Jaden, look over there!" I exclaimed excitedly, pointing at a nearby glass cage. Finally, my friend looked away from a nearby iguana. "Are those snakes?" He asked in surprise. "Yes!" I responded and ran to the cage. _

_A long, greyish snake was lying inside. "Northern Water Snake." I read its name with a small smile. "I don't like snakes." Jaden said with a frown. "Why?" I asked him in confusion. "Because they can poison you." He responded immediately. "Not all of them," I shook my head with a chuckle. "And certainly not this one." I pointed at the snake in the cage._

"_How do you know that?" He asked me curiously. "There's a difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes in general." I explained with a smile. "Really?" "Yes! You see, the ones without poison are not brightly colored, and their head is not triangular like with poisonous ones." "This one's not brightly colored." Jaden finally agreed with a nod, his eyes looking over the snake._

"_Her head is not triangular either." I pointed at the snake's head. "Besides, poisonous snakes have eyes like cats." I then added cheerfully. "Like cats, you say?" Jaden looked at me curiously. _

_His eyes then wandered over to the next cage. "Is that a poisonous one, then?" He suddenly asked, pointing at another snake. We walked over to it. "Ottoman viper." I read. "Why do you think it's poisonous?" I then looked at my friend._

"_It has eyes like cats." He pointed at the snake's eyes. I looked at them. "You're right." I agreed with a grin. "Look at its head." I pointed. "Triangular shape." He nodded. "Are there more snakes?" I looked up curiously. "Yes." My friend nodded. _

"_Then race you to the next one!" I laughed, running towards it. "Hey, wait up!" He ran after me, just as I stopped in front of the cage. "Another viper?" He then asked in disbelief. "__**Horned **__viper." I corrected my friend. "It's not much different from the other one." He said. "This one has a horn, see?" I pointed at the horn of the snake._

"_And cat's eyes." My friend added. "Triangular head too." I pointed out, making us laugh. _

_Suddenly, I heard a scream. Jaden and I quickly turned around to see my aunt trembling, her eyes wide. A hand was over her mouth. She quickly ran away from us. "What happened?" My friend looked at me, his eyes wide. "I don't know." I responded honestly before we ran after her._

"You mean the time we spent guessing whether snakes were poisonous or not?" I presumed, finally realizing what Jaden was referring to. He nodded. "I had never seen your aunt so scared before…" He trailed off. "She has ophidiophobia, remember?" I reminded. "Ophidio what?" "Phobia of snakes." I quickly explained.

"Oh." Jaden nodded. "I remember now. We didn't return inside after she had run out." "She was so scared…" I nodded as well, remembering that day. "Vipers were snakes we saw back then?" He asked while rubbing the back of his head.

I nodded. That was when an image of Professor Viper appeared in my head. He was smiling smugly at me, and getting ready to give me another detention… Then he summoned his snakes and…

"No!" I quickly shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I just had to associate poor vipers with the snake himself…

"What's the matter?" Jaden asked me in confusion. "Nothing, you just reminded me of my former professor." I replied sheepishly. Seeing I was still confused, I let out a sigh. "During my first year at West Academy, before I transferred here, one professor's last name was Viper." I explained.

Jaden's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" He asked. I nodded. "He even has a deck full of snakes. He used to give me detentions frequently, and during one, I had to duel him." "Who won?" He wondered. "No one, since another professor interrupted us." I replied. "A deck full of snakes…" He then mused. "It's awful. Most of them has this venom, which takes away a monster's attack points every turn until it's destroyed."

"That sounds… Interesting…" Jaden trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. "Until you see it in action. It's terrible." I let out a sigh while playing with one of my strands. He shrugged his shoulders. "I believe you, but not seeing it doesn't help." "I know." I nodded.

"Wait," Jaden then frowned. "You spent your first year there?" He repeated. I nodded. "It's a branch of the Main Academy, in between Sicily and Sardinia." "Europe then." He concluded, making me nod yet again. "The only other branch I know about is North Academy. Chazz spent some time there last year before coming back."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He nodded. "Ben told me there are two more branches. One of them is East Academy, and the other one is South Academy. The East one is near America, and the South one in between Australia and New Zealand."

"First time I hear about them." My friend mused. "I know about it only thanks to Ben." I shrugged my shoulders. "Ben's always informed." He nodded in agreement. "But why didn't you come with him here last year?" He then asked me perplexed.

I let out a sigh, knowing this was coming nonetheless. "It all started more than a year ago," I started while playing with Pharaoh's left ear. "When my parents forced me to go there. They said that if I got kicked out, then they'd just transfer me into another school." "Why?" Jaden's eyes widened. "I mean, from what I remember, they're nice…" He then added.

I rolled my eyes. "They _are_, but they're quite overprotective too. They didn't allow me to leave the house all alone. I never knew why." I stated. "They claimed going to Duel Academy would be good for me. Quite illogical, since they forbade me from playing _Duel Monsters_ when I was small in the first place…" I groaned in annoyance.

"Wait, what happened since we've last seen each other?" Jaden quickly interrupted before I could say something else. I took a deep breath and put down the cat. "I guess I'd better start from the beginning?" I presumed sheepishly. "That would make things easier." He nodded.

"Fine." I took a deep breath again. "The last thing I remember is us playing at your house like we used to. The next thing I remember is moving to Rome." I started, playing with one of my red strands. "We spent some time there before moving back to Japan." "Nagoya." Jaden remembered. I nodded.

"I was still small back then, which was why Sarina and Sartorius continued looking after me. Once I was old enough, my parents started locking me up so I couldn't get out." "And you never knew why?" Jaden repeated perplexed.

I nodded with a frown. "Then, one day, they just told me I'd be going to Duel Academy. They said as soon as I graduated, I could do whatever I wanted." "But what's that about forbidding you to play _Duel Monsters_?" Jaden asked me surprised.

"Just that." I looked up at him. "As soon as they found my deck, Mum ripped it apart." I explained bitterly, as those events flashed through my mind. "No…" Jaden trailed off in disbelief. "_Yes_." I nodded firmly. "Then they forbade me to be friends with anyone who played _Duel Monsters_. Since everyone had them at school, I was all alone." "Is that why you hate them so much?" He asked in realization. I stayed quiet for a few moments.

By now, my feelings about _Duel Monsters_ were mixed. I've just remembered how I used to play them with Jaden. Every time we played them was fun. It certainly wasn't my favorite activity, but I used to like it enough so I could play with my friend. In fact, we used to make compromises back then, since Jaden liked those cards way more than I did…

To avoid arguments about what to play, Aunt Maria suggested playing a bit of everything. That was exactly what we did, which was why we managed to get along so well, despite our different preferences. Jaden loved dueling, whereas I was a girl who just preferred running around and observing nature… We were basically polar opposites when it came to that, and still were. Jaden hasn't changed much, neither have my preferences.

But then, when my parents forbade me from doing anything with them, I started hating _Duel Monsters_… My hatred grew even more when they forced me into the Academy. But now? I had my memories back, yet I still couldn't forget what my parents did to me due to those cards… I didn't hate them, but I wasn't as fond of them as earlier… I _respected _them and cherished good memories. Yes, that was it.

"I _used to_. Now, I want to respect them and cherish good memories." I finally spoke up. Jaden let out a sigh. "In that case…" He then smiled and started taking something out of his Deck Box. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I believe this belongs to you." He offered me two cards.

I took them while feeling utterly confused. My eyes then landed on the card's drawings. One of them was the phoenix I had seen earlier, and the other one was that weird creature…

"_I sacrifice those two monsters to summon my Sacred Phoenix!" I declared and put the card on the table. "Your strongest monster…" Jaden trailed off with a grin. "Si." I nodded with a smirk._

"_What's that?" Jaden asked curiously while looking at the spirit of a small creature which appeared in front of us. "From what I can see, it's called Mystical Peryton." I replied a bit confused. "What's a peryton?" He wondered aloud. "It's a mythological animal that has features of a stag and a bird." Aunt Maria explained, walking into the room. "Oh…" Jaden and I chorused in realization. _

"How come you have those cards?" I asked my friend in astonishment. "They stayed in my possession for some reason. I don't remember how, nor when." He rubbed the back of his head.

I kept staring at those two cards. As of now, those were the only remains of my first deck… The one Mum tore apart. Seeing them again made me feel happy. They were a part of my childhood… It was only luck they survived this long, compared to other cards from the deck!

"Thank you." I told Jaden with a smile and hugged him. "Hey, that's what friends are for!" He let out a laugh but hugged me back. "I just can't believe you had them all this time, especially since the rest of the deck is gone." I admitted once we pulled away.

Suddenly, I could hear some sort of a bird calling. I looked around in confusion. "Did you hear that?" I asked Jaden in surprise. "I definitely heard something." He nodded, looking around as well.

Looking up, I let out a yelp and jumped back. "Serena, what's… Oh." I could hear him finishing in what seemed to be realization.

A _spirit _of what seemed to be a small, white peryton was looking right back at me. It chirped yet again and flew towards me. I let out a yelp and quickly ducked, covering my eyes.

At that moment, I was feeling nothing but panic. My heart was beating faster as well. If my fresh memories served me correctly, I had seen this fellow before… But this was so sudden! I had just recovered my memories, and spirits were already reappearing! Sure, I did see the dingo once during the entrance exam, but I had no explanation for that one!

"Chill out," Jaden grabbed me by my arm and helped me up. "This one's harmless, remember?" I slowly took hands off my eyes. The spirit was in front of me, giving me a curious look. It let out a chirp and flew closer. After that, it landed on my right shoulder, yet I never felt him being there. Yes, how stupid of me, they weren't called _spirits_ for nothing… "Well, hi there?" I greeted awkwardly.

That was when another spirit appeared. I tilted my head to left in confusion. It resembled a furball, except that this one had eyes, wings, and green legs… "Hey, Winged Kuriboh!" Jaden grinned from next to me.

"You know that spirit?" I glanced at him wide-eyed. "Of course," He smiled at me. "I have his card after all." I stared at him for another few moments, trying to just let everything sink in.

We were actually communicating with _spirits_… I hadn't done that since I was a child! It would take a while to get used to it again, especially since I used to believe such things didn't exist… In fact, the logical part of me was still skeptical about this… But I couldn't deny it anymore. I could see them with my own eyes, those two spirits were real!

The furball flew closer to the spirit on my shoulder. However, the Peryton scowled at it and looked away. It then hid behind my neck. The furry monster then flew back to Jaden who glanced between it and the Peryton.

"It appears my monster doesn't like yours for some reason." I commented with a raised eyebrow. "They'll get around." Jaden replied reassuringly before looking at the little furball. "Isn't that right, Winged Kuriboh?" He smiled. The response he got was the spirit landing on his head. "Winged Kuriboh." I repeated to myself, trying to memorize its name.

That made Jaden give me a perplexed look. "You _do _know I tend to forget some names…" I trailed off, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Oh, yes." He suddenly started laughing, earning confused looks from the Peryton, Kuriboh, and me. "What's so funny?" I tilted my head to left yet again.

"Please tell me you haven't forgot about Mister Nakamura." He smirked. My eyes widened the moment I heard that name come out of his mouth. I remembered him immediately… "_Dio santo_…" I face palmed, making my friend burst in even more laughter.

Mister Nakamura used to be our neighbor back then. He had lived in a house on my left. It had a backyard, and looked pretty… However, he disliked any noise, especially if it came from his neighbors. He had no tolerance towards children either. Jaden and I used to constantly get on his nerves whenever we played in my garden… One time he got really mad when we broke his window with a football ball…

_I _broke his window, actually. Mister was furious when I didn't remember his name, and it probably would have got even worse if Sartorius hadn't rushed to calm down the man…

_Jaden kicked the ball to me. I kicked it back the most strongly I could, sending it flying up. Suddenly, I could hear something breaking._

_My eyes widened as I exchanged a glance with Jaden who seemed to be equally shocked. We then looked up to see… A broken window right across! "Oh no." I gasped. "Now we're in trouble!" I exclaimed in panic and tugged at my hair._

_I then started looking around immediately, wondering where to hide. If I didn't do that, our neighbor would be furious with me. If not him, then Sartorius would be mad instead. "Why?!" I shouted, still trying to find a good hiding place. Unfortunately, it was too late._

"_NOW YOU'VE REALLY DONE IT!" A man screeched, rushing out of the house across mine. He was holding my ball in his hands, and had a look of fury all over his face. "We're sorry!" Jaden shouted in panic just as the man rushed to the fence dividing our gardens._

"_Is 'sorry' going to replace my window?!" He demanded, showing him the ball. "No, but…" "You spoiled brat…" "It's my fault! I kicked it!" I shouted to him, making Jaden and the man look at me. "I really don't know who's worse out of you two. A girl doing this is already worse itself." He said in a low, deadly tone._

_I started trembling in fear. "I'm sorry, Mister… Mister…" I stopped, realizing I didn't remember what his name actually was. "Mister what?" He demanded angrily. "Sorry, I don't remember your name, Mister…" The man gaped at me. But then, that changed to an even angrier look. "How dare you, you little…" He started furiously, about to grab me by my shirt… Only for me to be pushed back behind someone._

"_What's going on here?" I looked up to see Sartorius in front of me, looking at my neighbor calmly. "Mister," The man glared at him. "The kid broke my window." He then pointed at me furiously. I quickly hid behind Sartorius in fear._

"_Wh… What?" I could hear him asking the neighbor in surprise. "That brat broke my window! She kicked the ball right at it!" "I'm sure it was an accident. She didn't mean it." Sartorius told him, still sounding calm. "I don't care whether it was an incident or not. I expect money for the repair from her parents." The man responded angrily, but sounding calmer. He then marched away._

_I stepped out from behind Sartorius, sighing in relief. "Serena," He turned around to look at me. "How did you manage to break a window during only few moments of my absence?" He asked in a disapproving tone, kneeling to look at me better._

"_It's my fault, I kicked it too strong," Jaden started, only for me to cut him off. "No, it's not. I'm the one who kicked the ball even worse, right towards the window." I pointed out. _

_Sartorius looked between us back and forth. Finally, his eyes landed on me again. "You've got to be more careful." He sighed. "I know, I'm sorry!" "I'm not saying it only to lecture you. It's for your own good. You could get hurt, or…" "I know…" I let out a groan._

"_You do know I'll have to tell your parents about this?" "I know, I'm in so much trouble…" I groaned yet again. "You're not. It was an accident." "Mum and Dad will still be mad!" I exclaimed. "Maybe a bit, but I'll tell them you didn't do it on purpose." "Fine." I sighed._

"If it hadn't been for Sartorius, I would have been dead right there." I spoke up with a sigh. "Wait, that man was him?" Jaden demanded in surprise. I simply nodded. "I didn't remember that either…" "To be fair, I think he and Sarina were around when you were at my house only two or three times, that's why." I spoke up.

"I still find it a bit surprising. I mean, he saved you from our neighbor, and now he's all creepy…" My friend trailed off. "Wait, that woman was his sister?" He then demanded. I nodded.

My thoughts wandered over to the day when that incident with my neighbor happened. However, I quickly brushed them off. Sartorius was the last person I wanted to think about right now.

"Anyway, what were we talking about before?" I quickly asked, wanting to change the subject. "Um… Duel Monster Spirits?" Jaden guessed sheepishly. "Before that was about me being forced to go to Duel Academy." I remembered.

I then took another deep breath. "Anyway, I spent a year there. Ben had suggested transferring here, so here I am. What about you?" I then asked. "The last thing I remember is us moving to Nagoya. Things went pretty normal, and then I signed up for entrance exams at Domino City. The first year passed, and, well, you know what happened next." Jaden replied with a shrug.

I nodded before putting those two cards in my Deck Box. At that moment, Kuriboh and Peryton disappeared.

"But I still don't understand how I could have forgot you in the first place… It's like my mind is blank when it comes to that." I admitted with a frown. "I know as much as you, since I don't remember anything else either." He replied honestly.

"You've remembered everything today?" I asked curiously. "Well… Not exactly." Jaden said sheepishly while standing up. "Mind going over there? I'm stiff from sitting in same position all the time." He pointed at grass by the sea. "Sure." I nodded.

We walked over to that part, away from the fire. I sat down on the grass while Jaden lay there on his back. Feeling soft grass beneath my hands just felt so liberating… It reminded me of how we would always lie on grass and talk when we were kids.

"So, what did you mean by that?" I then asked, leaning on my arms. "Ever since I've first seen you, I felt like I had known you from before," He started with a yawn. "But when I lost that duel with Aster, some memories flashed through my head. I didn't know what they meant though."

"Really?" I asked in surprise, making Jaden nod. "Then when we searched your room during Crowler's duel with Bonaparte for whatever it is you used to carry with you all the time," "_Herbarium_." "Yes, _that_… Well, when I found it, it did look familiar to me… But I didn't know why." "So _that's _why you were staring at it like crazy…" I trailed off in realization.

Jaden sat up to look at me. "What did you think I was doing that for?" He asked curiously. "I guessed you were weirded out by my habits, especially since Ben started saying them out loud." I rolled my eyes with a smirk. "No." He shook his head with a smile. "But it's not until I saw your bracelet that I remembered most of it."

"I see…" I trailed off with a smile of my own. "What about you?" "Well…" I started playing with one of my red strands. "I found the bracelet in my drawer on the day of entrance exams. Since then, I've kept it as sort of a good luck charm, and it usually helped me… First memories appeared on our flight to the West Academy," I continued, looking up at him.

"But I was convinced it was some sort of a hallucination. Then I found your birthday card and realized those were memories, rather than hallucinations as I had thought… I realized there was something familiar about you, except that I couldn't figure out what." I frowned for a moment. "During our conversation at the boat, the idea of me knowing you popped up in my mind, but I had no proof it was true… I went looking around to see whether I could remember something… And then you know the rest." He nodded with a smile.

I glanced at the bracelet on his right wrist. "You've been wearing it all this time?" I asked in surprise. He nodded. "For quite a few years now, actually. But I was convinced I bought only one that day, not two. Based on what Mum and Dad said anyway." "Ben saw it when you accidentally dropped it at Dorothy's shop. That's why he was convinced you were on the island too." I spoke up, remembering that day.

"I never showed it to anyone else, so I don't know how he figured it out." My friend spoke up perplexed. "No," I shook my head with a chuckle. "I meant, as in, he thought you were my friend from neighborhood, but he didn't know your name..." "Oh." He trailed off in realization. "You believed him?" "Well, yes, until Dorothy said she didn't know who the bracelet's owner was." I stopped for a moment. "Was she lying?" I then asked. "I asked her not to mention it to anyone, that's probably why." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

I then let out a sigh. "I just can't believe Aunt Maria lied to me like that… She claimed I was going insane when I mentioned my supposed amnesia." I explained with a frown. "From what I remember, she wasn't the one to lie?" He presumed. "No." I shook my head. "As soon as they find her, I'll confront her about this." I declared firmly.

"Don't worry about it now." Jaden told me. "How can you expect from me not to worry when…" I spoke up in disbelief, only to be cut off. "I want to know what happened as much as you. But, right now, I'm just happy to see you again." "I'm happy to see you too." I smiled back, with feelings of joy washing over me yet again.

I let out a yelp as I was suddenly pulled down to grass. We started laughing. After spending some time just lying in grass, I felt my eyes closing from all the tiredness…

**Well, this chapter was originally supposed to be with Kaiba Land too, but I felt like putting all of that in one chapter would look rushed. Besides, I think this chapter needs to be a separate one, since it is filled with explanations and flashbacks…**

**In case you hadn't figured it out, yes, Serena's first deck had cards with mythical creatures. The 'Sacred Phoenix' is actually her signature card from now on. Just to make that clear.**

**Words in Italian:**

**Dio santo-a variation of 'oh my God'.**

**I hope you liked it, and until next time! :)**


	25. Unexpected Development

**Ghost Of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked their chemistry! ;)**

**This chapter takes place during 'Mirror Mirror'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

_There was nothing but mist. I looked around it in utter confusion. Why in the world I was here, I had no idea…_

_That was when I could see a tall figure in the distance. My eyebrows furrowing, I started walking towards it curiously. At the same time, I was wondering who that could be…_

_Finally, I was close enough. My eyes widened in shock. It was… "Sartorius?" I spoke up astonished. _

_The moment I spoke up, the man quickly turned around. To my surprise, he looked the way he used to, before he had gone insane. His skin wasn't as pale, and his eyes definitely weren't scary-looking. In fact, right now, they were looking straight at me in what seemed to be… Panic?_

"_What are you doing here?" He demanded hastily. "I could ask you the same question." I responded with a frown. "No, you don't understand," Sartorius shook his head, suddenly grabbing me by my shoulders. "You need to get out of here. __**Now**__." _

"_Why?" I demanded, pushing him away from me harshly. "In fact, why should I trust you? How can I know you're not planning to assault me again?!" I glared at the man. "Serena, this is not time for arguing," He frowned at me. "Just listen to me and get out!" _

_There was this panic and urgency in his voice… By now, I didn't understand a thing. I wasn't going to leave either, not until I got some answers._

"_I'm not little, so you can't tell me what to do anymore." I retorted angrily, folding my arms. "Serena, please…" By now, the man was looking at me pleadingly. _

_Suddenly, wind started blowing violently. "No…" Sartorius quickly turned towards the direction of the upcoming wind. That was when some sort of white light started glowing all over his body. It made his hair go wild and float in the air._

_With feelings of sudden fear washing over me, I backed away a bit. It didn't help my heart was beating like crazy in panic… I had no idea what was going on, but I was still scared…_

_Finally, Sartorius turned around. At that moment, I wished he hadn't. Everything about his face made shivers run down my spine. It was contorted in a huge, sinister grin, and his eyes were filled with insanity… To make it even worse, they were staring right at __**me**__._

_Shaking like crazy, I tried to fight back a scream threatening to come out of my mouth… Only to fail miserably. I let out a high-pitched scream. _

_Reasonably, I should have tried to run away. I shouldn't have stayed here. But I was too scared to think of doing something. I was completely frozen, and unable to look away from the man in front of me… _

_That was when Sartorius grabbed my right wrist violently. "You really are foolish…" He started laughing evilly, lifting up a knife in his right hand. _

_That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. "PLEASE, HAVE MERCY!" I screamed, falling to my knees with tears running down my cheeks. The response I got was another evil laugh. I quickly covered my eyes with my left arm in fear. "Mercy, you said?" The man asked smugly. He then violently grabbed the arm I used to cover my eyes, making me scream in pain._

_I looked up to see those eyes looking right into mine. "There is no mercy…" The grin on his face became even bigger, as he plunged the knife in my direction. I screamed, trying to get away, which was impossible since he was still holding me by my wrist…_

My eyes snapped open. Breathing heavily, I slowly sat up. Morning sunlight was shining directly at me, making me cover my eyes. Seagulls could be heard. It was then I finally realized what had happened before was just a nightmare…

"Thank goodness." I breathed in relief, taking hands off my eyes and looking away. I could feel my heart rate calming down in process. Unfortunately, I could still remember that awful nightmare…

I ran into Sartorius, who told me to get out of there. I refused to, and when wind started blowing, he went completely insane and tried to kill me… It was _terrifying_! I'd never seen such insanity in someone's eyes… It unnerved me.

It also made me even more scared, and confused. I knew it was just a nightmare, but my impression of Sartorius was no better after it. How could someone kind become so insane?! He went crazy in literally few seconds in that nightmare…

'_How long are you going to keep mentioning your 'insanity' theory?' _The other part of me asked unimpressed. _'But what else am I supposed to believe?! In what other way can that sudden change be explained?!' _I thought back, this time desperately. _'I just think doubting someone you've known for so long is quite stupid.' _That part replied matter-of-factly.

'_I tried to find out what's wrong! The only thing that got me was harsh treatment from both Sartorius and Ben! Hell, I asked the man what's wrong, only to be threatened instead! I tried to come closer to Ben, but he started being aggressive to me!' _I thought. _'And you know something is clearly wrong. Instead of trying to figure out what, you're trying to convince yourself two people dear to you are lunatics.'_

I looked away for a few moments, playing with my right hair strand.

'_Tell me, had Ben and Sartorius ever shown signs of being mentally ill before?' _The other part spoke up firmly. _'No, but…' 'Then WHY are you claiming they are?!' 'Because that's the only logical explanation for their behavior! I don't want to be hurt anymore!' _I thought back furiously.

'_Logic can't solve everything, Serena. You know your guts are telling you something is wrong. You're still worried about both of them, and now Sarina too, even though you had tried to convince yourself in the opposite.' 'But...' 'You're feeling hurt and sad. That's why you're doing this.' 'But it doesn't make any sense either…' 'Science and logic __**can't **__prove everything! Tell me, are you going to keep listening to your mind, or are you going to start listening to what your guts are telling you?!' _The other part demanded. _'It's as if listening to my mind is a bad thing.' _I thought in annoyance. _'It doesn't always have to be. In this case, it is.' _

I let out a sigh and started running hands through my hair. By now, I was feeling like an emotional wreck. My guts and mind were having an argument of their own, and, by now, I really had no idea what to listen to…

"_Whenever you need me, cuzo, just call!" Ben grinned and winked at me._

"_Fine, but __**only **__fifteen minutes." "Thank you, Sarina!" I squealed and jumped up, hugging her. She laughed and hugged me back._

"_It still hurts." I frowned, touching the plaster on my left knee. "Don't touch it. It should stop stinging soon." Sartorius told me. I looked up. "Thank you!" I cried, jumping up to hug him. A few moments later, I was hugged as well._

I've been close with those three for a long time now… It made _no _sense for them to be acting like this. It was just sudden, and _wrong_. If they had been insane the whole time, I should have been able to notice it? If they were insane, then why would I have such fond memories of them now?

Whenever I was in trouble, Ben would offer to help me. Sarina and Sartorius would always look after me, even though they weren't obliged to do so.

Maybe I didn't know what had got into them, nor whether they could be helped or not… But I couldn't leave it be. I just couldn't. I couldn't, nor did I want to forget people who showed they cared about me more than my own parents did…

I would try to get to the bottom of this. I owed it to all three of them! They were the ones who got me out of trouble, and it's thanks to them I had all those precious memories now…

Just as I promised to myself that I would try to find out everything, I could hear yawning. "Morning…" Jaden's voice greeted sleepily. I quickly turned around to see him sitting up next to me, rubbing his eyes. "Morning." I greeted back with a small smile. "We fell asleep here, didn't we?" He guessed. "It appears so." I nodded. "At least the grass was soft." He muttered. "Fair enough." I agreed.

I then started running hands through my hair, trying to make it messy. It would have been easier with a hairbrush, but I didn't know where my suitcase was right now… My guess was most probably at the hotel, but this wasn't really time to chase any building that wasn't called Kaiba Land!

"My hair still looks messy?" I asked Jaden after a few moments. "You're even asking?" He responded in amusement. "I'll take that as 'yes'." I rolled my eyes with a smirk, putting hands down in process. There was no point in trying to fix it…

"Good morning, you two." Bastion's voice made us turn around. He was walking towards us, with Atticus right behind him. "Good morning." The other guy greeted as well. "Morning." Jaden greeted back, with me doing so as well.

"How long have you been up?" The British guy asked, sitting next to Jaden. "No idea." My friend shrugged. "Where's Mister Muto?" Atticus questioned and sat down on my right. "He said he'd come here this morning to show us where Kaiba Land is." Jaden rubbed the back of his head.

"And here I am!" A familiar voice said, making all four of us turn around. Mister Muto was walking towards us. "Are you ready, kids?" He asked. "You bet!" Jaden literally jumped up. I stood up with a nod, followed by Bastion and Atticus. "You're leaving?" Aster Phoenix's voice made us look up.

He was walking towards us. "Yes." Bastion nodded. "Then let's get going." He walked past us, making Jaden, Atticus, Bastion and me exchange glances. We started walking after the professional duelist.

* * *

"Turn right!" Mister Muto, who was riding on Bastion's back, shouted. We turned right and continued running down the street.

That was when Bastion stopped running. "There it is!" Mister Muto pointed at Kaiba Land in distance. The rest of us stopped running as well. I looked up at the building in front of us. I could hear others talking between themselves, but I paid no attention to their words.

I could feel fear just by looking at Kaiba Land. Sarina was in there, waiting… I was going in though. She wanted me inside as well. Besides, how would I be able to find out what was wrong with all of them if I ran away?!

"Are you coming?" Looking up, I could see Jaden giving me a curious look. Bastion, Atticus, Mister Muto, and Aster Phoenix were already in front of us. I quickly nodded and followed Jaden towards Kaiba Land.

We were running through the place when we saw big, yellow door opening next to us. "No, not this place!" Mister Muto exclaimed. I glanced at him in confusion. It sounded like he really didn't like seeing this part of the park…

"Why, what is it?" Jaden asked him. "Try reading the sign, dude." Aster Phoenix frowned.

I looked at the sign with a frown. "Computer-generated alternate reality?" I read with a raised eyebrow. The first time I heard of such thing, really… "And that is?" Jaden asked yet again, apparently not understanding it.

"It's Kaiba's Virtual World. If you kids go in, there's a chance you may never come out." Mister Muto explained. Shivers ran down my spine for a moment.

This was an amusement park, huh? What was the point of having an attraction where there was a chance someone could never come out? This thing would scare me away rather than attract me to the park if I were a kid! Whose crazy idea this thing was, I had to wonder… I _also _had to wonder why Sarina wanted us inside… _Why_ would you wantto be there in the first place?!

"Well, my friends are in there, so I'm going in, danger or no danger." Jaden declared. "You two?" He then looked at Aster Phoenix and me. "You bet I am! My destiny's in there!" The professional duelist told him firmly.

My friend's brown eyes then landed on me. "Sarina wants me there as well for some reason. I have to go." I spoke up with a nod, trying not to think about the possibility of us not coming out of this crazy attraction. Whoever invented it was a damn idiot…

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" I could hear Mister Muto saying behind us as we went upstairs, right towards the entrance. Once I was by the door, I could hear Jaden telling Bastion, Mister Muto and Atticus to wait outside. "No complaints from me!" The older man declared.

I couldn't help smirking. Staying away from this place was the smartest idea, and he knew that…

Aster Phoenix walked inside. I looked at the entrance, suddenly trembling. Telling myself I had to go in was one thing, but actually _entering _was _something else_… The more I looked at it, the more I wanted to get out the fastest I could…

"Why aren't you going in?" Jaden looked at me, tilting his head a bit to right in confusion. "I… I…" I tried to say something and calm down. Unfortunately, that was impossible, since even more anxiousness and fear washed over me. Just looking at that door made me want to bolt out of here…

My friend looked at me from head to toe, observing my trembling form. "Do you want me to go in first?" He finally asked.

A brief feeling of relief washed over me. If he did go before me, then I'd be sure I wasn't alone… I had to go in there!

I quickly nodded. With a smile, Jaden grabbed my hand and started leading us inside the attraction.

* * *

The moment we entered it, there was a long corridor ahead of us. What surprised me was lack of light…

We followed Aster Phoenix. I was looking around the dark corridor. I couldn't help feeling even more nervous, especially when the light suddenly turned on…

The door at the end opened automatically. We walked through and right into a dark room. "Why is everything in the dark?" I questioned in a bit of annoyance, making Aster Phoenix and Jaden look at me for a moment.

"Hello! Anybody there?!" Jaden then called. That was when bright light started shining. I quickly covered my eyes, but then everything went black…

* * *

The first thing I could feel was my head throbbing. With a loud groan, I grabbed my head with both of my hands. The last thing I remembered was some bright light…

"So you're finally awake." A familiar, female voice spoke up. Just hearing it brought me immediate panic. Snapping my eyes open, I quickly leaned on my arms. I then looked up from my lying on the stomach position to see… _Sarina_.

She was standing right across. A calm look was on her face, and her dark purple eyes were looking straight at me. A Duel Disk was strapped to her left arm.

Slowly standing up, I took that chance to observe the woman more closely. The last time I saw her was more than a year ago. Even though time had passed since then, she still looked the same… There was no massive contrast in her appearance at all.

It both surprised and confused me a bit, since Sartorius looked so different compared to the last time… If it weren't for her previous smug smile, I could guess she was the same person from her appearance. Yet I didn't understand… Why did she look normal while her brother didn't?

Finally, I was on my feet. All the time, my eyes didn't leave Sarina. I was a bit afraid that she'd disappear if I looked away. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me, since I wasn't aware of some things her powers could do until last night… She could really disappear for all I knew!

It was then I realized only she and I were here. Jaden and Aster Phoenix weren't with us… I quickly looked around, only to notice we were in some weird, digital space. Mirror walls were surrounding us.

"Where are Jaden and Aster?!" I demanded with a frown, turning my gaze back to Sarina. It was stupid of me to look away… But I had to see where we were right now!

"They're here for the reason they came, just like you." The woman responded calmly, closing her eyes. A frown appeared on my face.

That answer didn't explain anything… It made me even more confused!

My thoughts wandered over to the last time I heard from her. She had been as confusing as now…

"_Sarina, it's really you!" I exclaimed in excitement. "You shouldn't have called me." The woman replied coldly over the phone. _

_I stopped breathing for a few moments, wondering where that came from. Sarina had never been so cold… _

"_Why?" I demanded. "Serena, I have no time to argue about this." She retorted. "Oh, but I __**do**__." I growled, feeling sudden anger at her pushing me away. "And you know what? I really don't understand why you and Sartorius keep pushing me away! What have I done to make you two avoid me?!" I started shouting._

"_Enough, Serena." The woman replied in a warning tone. "No, I'm the one who should be saying that! If you two hate me and don't want to have anything to do with me, you can say it right here!" I continued shouting furiously._

_That was when I heard a quiet, but audible gasp. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, since I had no idea what was happening at the other end of line. "Serena, I don't have time for this. Do __**not **__call me, __**or **__Sartorius from now on." She warned. "Oh, yes, I will…" I started, only to find out she had already hung up._

While memories of that did bring up some anger, now, it brought more confusion.

Sarina and Sartorius have stopped being in contact with me since my first day at West Academy. When I _did _manage to finally get an answer, Sarina told me how I shouldn't have called her. She told me not to call her and Sartorius. If she was so willing to avoid talking to me, then why would she want me to come here now? She was acting as if that phone call had never happened… Something didn't add up.

The case with Sartorius was no better. First, he called to tell me I would be in danger, then he hung up, came back with his sect a year later and started threatening me… When put together, _none _of it made sense.

Insanity would have been a proper answer to all of this… But saying that felt wrong all of a sudden. My guts were telling me not to use that word until I knew for sure… There had to be a proper explanation for their actions! There had to be an explanation for such drastic change!

I looked at Sarina for a few moments. I had to ask in order to get some answers… I was still a bit afraid though. The last time I asked something, I was nearly assaulted by Sartorius… Was asking her a smart idea?

From what I could see, she looked like she wasn't ready to assault me for asking a question… Thankfully, she wasn't her brother!

"Care to explain what you and Sartorius are playing at?!" I finally demanded with a glare, taking a chance and praying she wasn't going to assault me.

Once I said those words, Sarina opened her eyes. "I don't know what you're taking about." She replied calmly. It didn't help her dark purple eyes were looking in my light blue ones… Yet, despite my nervousness, I could see it. It actually caught me by surprise once I realized it. Unlike Sartorius' cold eyes, her eyes were still warm and showed kindness…

Such a contrast between those two still astounded me. At that moment, I really wanted to know what had caused it…

I wasn't even sure what Sarina wanted from me, since she was obviously in contact with her brother… But now, I could tell she was still the same person from before. Her eyes showed me that, and it made me feel a bit at ease. Now, if only I could figure out why she was doing this…

"So, 'Society Of Light' doesn't ring a bell to you?" I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head and daring her to answer the question. "You're not here because of that." Sarina stated with a frown, suddenly putting hands behind her back and straightening up.

I was a bit confused by that action. I'd seen her do this a few times growing up. It usually happened when she was nervous about something… Sartorius had even said once he could tell something was wrong the moment she started doing that. I believed him, since that was his sister he was talking about.

That habit clearly indicated Sarina was nervous about something. It proved to me even more she was still the same like before. It also showed she was only acting like this for whatever damn reason she had. But what was it, and why?

"Then why am I here?" I demanded, looking up at the woman yet again. "You're here for a reason…" Sarina stated calmly, with hands still behind her back but a frown on her face.

I looked at her for a few moments. "How long are you going to keep up with this façade, Sarina?" I finally asked with a frown, folding my arms. "I don't understand what you're implying." She replied firmly. The look in her eyes told me completely opposite. There was this… _Fear _in them…

"Then why are you holding hands behind your back? Sartorius always asked you what was wrong the moment he saw you doing that." I quickly pointed out.

"_Enough_." She glared, quickly putting the left hand in front of her. Her right one, on the other hand, kept going through the pocket of her clothes. It looked like the hand in the pocket was trembling… I tilted my head to right perplexed.

I didn't understand what made her so nervous to the point of trembling… "Why?" I asked icily.

Finally, her hand seemed to have picked whatever was in the pocket. She then took out… A _knife_.

My eyes widened as soon as I saw it. My heart rate started going a bit faster in panic, since I'd already dreamt of knives in two of my dreams…

"What do you need that knife for?" I demanded angrily, just as she gripped it even more tightly. Sarina let out a sigh. It seemed like she was avoiding eye contact with me for a few seconds… Until she finally looked up. "To kill you." She said with a frown.

The moment she said that, I stopped breathing. My heart started beating at crazy speed. I couldn't believe what I had just heard, nor did I want to. Fear washed over me completely, and all of those sudden emotions resulted in me feeling like a complete mess…

"_Kill me_?" I repeated out loud, still not knowing what to think about this. One part of me sincerely hoped she was lying… And the other one was _terrified_. Every part of me was frozen. If what she said was true…

The woman nodded with a frown, her eyes looking directly into mine. "Kill you." She repeated. "_Why_?" I asked, feeling sadness, shock, and disbelief.

Sarina, the person who was like a mother figure to me, now wanted to _kill _me… It made me want to cry right there. The only bright side nowadays was finding Jaden and recovering some memories. My aunt was missing. Ben, Sartorius and Sarina were all against me for some reason, and it hurt… But hearing this statement from Sarina felt like a stab to chest, or a slap in face. What did I do to get all this?!

The woman stayed quiet, just looking at me. "Don't you think I at least deserve to know the reason?!" I finally screeched, feeling tears streaming down my cheeks. "What did I even do to deserve this?! You can say it right here!" I then continued screaming. By now, I was shaking uncontrollably.

But what infuriated me was Sarina's lack of answer. She was still frowning at me. "TELL ME!" I screeched angrily, and finally started sobbing.

"I've been ordered to do so!" She finally shouted with hands on her head. "Wh… Who… _Who _ordered you?!" I managed to scream through my sobs. "Sartorius." She replied, quickly looking away.

"_Sartorius_?" I repeated in astonishment. By now, I was feeling anger, sadness and shock at the same time. This felt like another stab…. When was the next one coming? They've been quite frequent ever since my cousin started hating me…

Sarina simply nodded, refusing to meet my eyes. "And why does he want you to kill me?" I demanded icily. She stayed quiet, much to my fury. "_Why_?!" I repeated. "I don't know!" Sarina shouted.

I could have sworn I've seen tears brimming in her eyes. However, I was too furious to care about it right now. I was so hurt at that moment…

One part of me wanted this madness to just stop. The other one kept telling me none of this made sense. The third one wanted to desperately know why. But the strongest one won out, the one that finally had it enough of all this harsh treatment.

"So you're going to kill me just because your brother told you so? Does his opinion matter to you more than someone else's life?" I demanded bitterly. "You don't understand!" She looked at me, tears threatening to start streaming down her cheeks as well. "If I don't, then he'll… He'll…" "He'll what?!" I didn't receive an answer to my demand.

Now, getting killed wasn't what I wanted. But, right now, I was feeling so much anger that I didn't care about anything else in the world. If Sarina thought Sartorius' desire to kill me (for whatever damn reason he had) was more important than my life (or any life in general), then I really didn't know what to think anymore. I wanted to show my fury, no matter what it took…

"Let's just get this over with." I finally growled. "What?" Sarina looked at me wide-eyed. "You said Sartorius had told you to kill me. If you're willing to listen to him at cost of my life, then why should I stop you?" I glared, standing up.

"Serena…" The woman started, now staring at me. However, I cut her off. "Just do it. At least you'll spare me from your, Ben's, and your brother's hurtful treatments." I retorted bitterly.

She stood up slowly, looking at the knife in her hand and me back and forth. "DO IT!" I shouted, spreading out my arms and closing my eyes in process.

I just stood there and waited for her to plunge the knife into me…

What I heard was something falling to the ground. However, for some reason, I didn't feel anything…

I opened my eyes slowly to see Sarina in front of me. The knife was lying far away from both of us. I looked back at her, my eyes widening in surprise.

"I… I can't do it…" She trailed off, looking at me and trying to brush off her tears. "Why? He told you to do so." I frowned. "That doesn't mean it's right!" She responded firmly. "Serena, please forgive me…" She finally fell to her knees. I could hear quiet sobs coming from her.

I'd never seen Sarina like that... I immediately felt guilt for causing her to be in that state. I went too far with my anger…

"Sarina, I'm so, so, sorry…" I ran to her and fell on my knees. "Why are you_ apologizing_?" She looked at me in disbelief, calming down a bit. "I overreacted, and…" "No, you _didn't_. I told you I'd been ordered to kill you. It's only natural you reacted in such way." She looked at the floor.

At that moment, dark, purple light started glowing around the woman, and walls as well. I backed away in a bit of surprise. It stopped glowing after a few moments. By the time I looked up, mirror walls were gone as well.

"What was that about?" I asked Sarina in surprise. "They've just passed the test…" She trailed off in what seemed to be relief. "What test?" I was confused by now. However, I never got an answer because I could hear voices.

"Jay, wait up!" "Where are you going, Sarge?" That sounded like Syrus and Hassleberry. "Serena!" I then heard Jaden's voice calling me. "Over here!" I shouted.

No sooner than that, Jaden, Aster Phoenix, Hassleberry and Syrus came running to where we were. "You're here." Jaden let out a sigh of relief while looking at me. I opened my mouth to say 'yes' but was cut off.

"Both of you have passed the test." Sarina spoke up, looking up at Jaden and Aster Phoenix. At hearing that, the former grinned at the latter who simply nodded to him with a small smile. The woman's eyes briefly moved to me before looking at the ground.

"Now, I desperately need your help." She said. I looked at her curiously, while Jaden and Aster Phoenix had looks of surprise on their faces. "Help?" I repeated. "Yes," She briefly looked at me, then at the two guys. "But not for me… For my brother." By now, I was staring at her, not knowing what to think.

"You see, the outcome of my duel with you two is indisputable, gentlemen. He needs you _both_." I didn't understand what Sarina was talking about at all… Why would Sartorius need Jaden and Aster Phoenix? And why did he need help? I mean, I understood and knew he was acting different, but all of this was _so _confusing…

The woman looked up at two of them. "Promise me when I set you free, that you'll save Sartorius." She pleaded. "Save him?" I tilted my head to left, looking at Sarina and feeling even more confused.

So far, we were the ones who needed saving from his sect… What was she talking about?!

"From what?" Jaden asked. "From his own mind…" Sarina trailed off, this time looking at the ground. "It's not his fault. My brother is under the control of an evil force."

The moment she said that, it was like my mind stopped working. It was as if someone had hit or paralyzed me… I didn't know what to think. That statement was so sudden, and so _unexpected_… 'Under the control of an evil force', she said? Out of all things wrong with Sartorius, this was the last thing I expected to hear…

It sounded _insane_! The whole idea of an 'evil force' sounded like a complete nonsense! I literally would have accepted any other explanation…

'_If that's nonsense, then Sartorius' and Sarina's abilities are nonsense too. Seeing Duel Monster Spirits is nonsense as well!' _The other part of me pointed out seriously.

But I've seen their abilities, and those spirits myself…

"_Ever since you've gone insane." I responded icily. "Insane?" Sartorius looked up from the cards in his left hand with a frown. "Serena, I'm not insane." He responded, completely catching me by surprise. "Then how do you explain your behavior up until now?" I spoke up and raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Let's move on, shall we? It's your turn." He ignored my question._

It was such a brief moment, yet I still remembered it. Back then, Sartorius sounded like a completely different person, the one I used to know. Even calling me by my name… It was something he hadn't done since the last time we had a 'decent' conversation.

Sarina wasn't a person to lie. Sartorius' sudden change in both appearance and personality made no sense either…

"Sure, he was never perfect… But when he told me about the Society Of Light, I knew something had to be wrong!" "What happened?" Jaden asked. "Wait, wait," I quickly stopped her, finally losing my patience. "Why did he order you to kill me?!" I frowned.

The moment I said that, all of the guys' eyes widened. By now, they were staring at both of us in shock. "He did what?!" Jaden demanded. His eyes were pretty much near to popping out of their sockets.

Sarina let out a sigh. "Sartorius ordered me to do two things here. The first one was to test you two, while the other one was to kill Serena." The guys were staring at the woman in shock yet again. I simply let out a sigh, grabbing one of my hair strands. I've already known what I was here for after all…

"But why?" Aster Phoenix spoke up with a frown. "I don't know…" She trailed off, looking at the floor. "But I couldn't do it." She then looked at me. "He wouldn't want to do that either." She told me firmly. I simply stared back, still not knowing what to think about the whole 'wanting to kill me' thing. I still didn't understand _why _he wanted it in the first place… Her last statement made everything even more confusing.

"Could you be a bit clearer?" I finally spoke up. "That would certainly make things easier." Hassleberry commented, with Jaden and Syrus nodding. Aster Phoenix stayed quiet, simply looking at the woman and me back and forth.

Sarina looked at them for a few moments. Finally, her eyes landed on me. "Do you remember the last time Sartorius called you?" She asked with a sigh. I frowned for a moment. Of course I remembered it…

"It was my first day at West Academy." I finally nodded. "Well, what did he tell you back then?" The woman looked at me. "He called me because he claimed I would be in great danger in the future. He also said it was unclear." I replied, folding my arms. "So that's what he told you…" Sarina trailed off with a sigh.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want to say he _lied_?" I demanded. "No," She shook her head. "He just twisted the truth a bit." She then looked at me. "What he had predicted that day was _quite_ clear…" "What was it?" Aster Phoenix demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"That he would kill Serena." She told him, making Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry gape at her. I felt like someone had just splashed me with a bucket of cold water. I was feeling even worse now…

"That's why he suggested to me," Sarina turned her attention back to me. "To try to cheat fate. He thought if we stopped any contact with you, that maybe we could prevent his prediction from happening."

My thoughts wandered back to last year, when I never managed to get Sarina and Sartorius on the line. "Was that why you never called me, nor answered to my calls?" I finally asked the woman, trying to let it sink in. She nodded. "It was only to try to protect you."

"Then why did you answer my call last year?" I demanded. "That was the day everything changed…" She sighed, this time looking at all of us. "A visitor came to Sartorius. Seeing he was a fortune-teller, that was nothing unusual. However, this one was different." She looked down for a moment. "It looked like Sartorius knew him from somewhere before. He was hesitant to let him in."

The rest of us exchanged glances of surprise.

"That was when you called…"

"_That's her calling, isn't it?" Sarina asked with a sigh as she and Sartorius sat by the table in the room. The man looked at the phone with a frown before nodding. He quickly pressed a button, muting the call completely._

"_Maybe you should have answered it… She's called us so many times by now." Sarina spoke up uncertainly. "I thought we agreed not to answer." The man looked up at her with a frown. "We did, but who knows what she might be thinking right now?" She pointed out. "I'm not willing to risk that much." Sartorius shook his head firmly, standing up from his chair._

_Sarina stood up as well. "But brother, we could at least let her know everything is fine…" She walked up to him. "Sarina, I don't want to become a murderer." He frowned at her. "I know, but…"_

_Suddenly, knocking on the door could be heard. Both Sartorius and Sarina looked in that direction in a bit of surprise. "Is it another customer?" The latter asked. "Most probably." The former nodded and walked up to the door._

_Sarina quickly walked to the table, taking the tray with cups of tea off it. "You…" She could hear her brother trailing off, just as she was about to leave the room through curtain door._

_Her eyebrows furrowing in confusion and curiosity, Sarina walked towards the other door to see what was going on. Sartorius was standing by the door entrance, and staring at someone. The person wore a jacket, a scarf, and a hat on his head. The woman really couldn't tell who it was, nor why her brother was so surprised…_

"_Why should I?" Sartorius suddenly demanded. Sarina moved a bit closer, trying to hear what they were talking about. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear much, since both the man and her brother were talking quietly…_

"_Fine." He finally said after a few moments, letting the man in. Sarina hurried towards the curtain door and left the tray there._

"The stranger brought in a card with him. I could immediately feel its ominous aura…" Sarina continued. I kept listening, but feeling confusion at the same time. How come such aura could come out of a… _Card_?

_That was when her phone started ringing. She looked at with a sigh, and accidentally answered it. Seeing it was Serena calling, she decided to keep the cold demeanor for her brother's sake._

_A minute later, just as Serena continued her angry rant over the phone, Sarina looked through the curtain. By now, her brother and the customer were sitting by the table, right across each other._

"_Why?" Sartorius finally asked. "It concerns this card." The stranger spoke up, taking the mentioned object out of his pocket. He put it on the table, pushing it towards the man in front of him. Sartorius' eyes were observing the man for a few moments, before finally landing on the card. There seemed to be some white light coming out of it._

_Sensing the card's ominous aura, Sarina let out a quiet gasp. Sartorius, on the other hand, started staring at the card. _

_At that moment, Sarina quickly hung up and looked up from behind the curtain. "How… How peculiar." Her brother commented, narrowing his eyes. "Know anything about it?" The stranger spoke up. "No, I don't…" Sartorius replied, now looking at the card in confusion._

_But then, the perplexed look on his face suddenly changed to a huge grin. Sarina felt a bit alarmed, since seeing such grin on her brother's face was uncharacteristic for him…_

"_Thank you very much." The stranger stood up and gave a polite bow. "No, thank you…" Sartorius stood up as well with the grin still on his face. He quickly grabbed the card with his left hand, and used the right one to shake the stranger's hand._

"I begged him to dispose of it, but he wouldn't listen. I was too late…"

_As soon as the stranger was out, Sartorius walked back into the room. Sarina noticed he couldn't take his eyes off the card at all. It worried her, especially since the ominous aura could be felt around him as well by now…_

"_Brother, who was that man?" She finally asked, walking up to her older sibling. "Just an… Acquaintance…." He trailed off in what seemed to be amusement. Sarina couldn't understand what was so amusing to him…_

_At that moment, a phone started ringing. Sartorius took it off the table and answered the call immediately. "Yes?" "Sartorius, is everything alright?" Serena's wary voice asked over the line. "Who's on the line?" He questioned slowly._

"_It's me, Serena." The girl replied, not trying to hide her annoyance. "Serena who?" "Serena Accardi." She growled. "And why did you call me?" Sartorius asked. "__I called you so I could see if you and Sarina were alright." "Yes… Everything is perfectly fine…" He trailed off in amusement before hanging up._

_He then continued looking at the card. Sarina looked at her brother in disbelief. Not only did he answer Serena's call (which he swore not to), but continued acting as if it was nothing… It was as if only that card mattered to him! By now, she was convinced he had done all that just because of the thing in his hands. That would also explain why the ominous aura around him kept getting stronger and stronger…_

"_Sartorius, please, throw the card away." The woman spoke up calmly. "Did you say something?" The man asked her in a bit of surprise, his back still turned to her. "I asked you to dispose of that card. I can sense ominous aura from it." She replied pleadingly._

_Sartorius let out what seemed to be a weird chuckle. "Is that so?" He finally turned around to look at Sarina with an evil grin. "So you can feel that wonderful energy too…" He let out an evil laugh. Sarina backed away a bit with a gasp._

_At that moment, Sartorius turned his back to her again. "Brother, please…" The woman pleaded, but it was too late. White light started glowing around the man's body. Then, the light erupted into flames, going right towards the ceiling…_

"My brother's soul was split in two, and the Sartorius I knew was gone." Sarina finished with a frown. By now, I was staring at her, so were the others.

Once I got a bit to my senses, I tried to process everything. It was a_ lot _to take in…

If I understood it correctly, the stranger came in and gave Sartorius a card, which was why he suddenly started acting so different… And that happened the day I called them… The day I had that bad feeling for an unknown reason.

Suddenly, everything started making sense. While the 'evil force' still seemed like a rather crazy idea, it fit in so perfectly, from their behavior that day, to what was happening now… For the first time, I felt like everything was a lot clearer. Even the dream from this morning fit in…

"But what was that card?" Jaden demanded. "A 'HERO' Monster, much like your own." Sarina replied, looking at two guys. Aster Phoenix even let out a gasp.

"It was extremely rare, perhaps even one of a kind…" "Does Sartorius still have it?" The professional duelist quickly asked. "No… After that force had possessed him, the card vanished." She explained with a sigh.

Finally, almost everything sunk in. At that moment, feelings of joy washed over me. That meant Sartorius never meant it when he treated me so harshly… Neither did Ben. It looked like he really _was _brainwashed, since his sudden personality change made no sense either… But he didn't really mean it!

'_I told you so.' _The other part of me pointed out in pure triumph. I should have listened to it…

"But Sarina, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you call Aunt Maria or me?" I spoke up, asking about the unclear part of the whole thing. "I tried to," The woman looked at me. "But Sartorius told me that if I even thought of saying something, that he'd kill me, and anyone I said that to." A sad look appeared on her face.

Shivers ran down my spine immediately. That was horrible…

"That's why you had to kill me too, isn't it?" I asked in a quieter tone. "He told me if I didn't, that he'd kill me instead." She replied, this time looking at the ground.

I felt even worse. Threatening others was bad enough, but threatening his own sister… What was that force?!

Suddenly, everything started shaking uncontrollably. "What's that?!" I asked in panic, quickly standing up. "We're out of time… This world's programmed to self-destruct, you must leave at once!" Sarina explained hastily.

"But where's the exit?" Jaden asked. "Over there." She pointed at some sort of blue light not too far away from us. "Then let's get going." I quickly offered her a hand. "Syrus, Hassleberry, hurry!" Jaden shouted to the two guys. They wasted no time, racing towards the exit.

"Come on, guys!" The short guy shouted. "You three go," Sarina took my hand to help her up and then let go of it. "I'm staying." "Why?!" I demanded in shock. "This has been my plan all along… This program will release me into cyberspace, from there, I shall be able to watch over my brother." She replied.

And then, she started glowing with light and electricity… "That's nuts!" Jaden exclaimed while Aster Phoenix gasped.

"But Sarina, you disobeyed him! He threatened to kill you!" I reminded in panic. "I did," She briefly looked at me. "And if I have to suffer the consequences, then so be it. He already knows I disobeyed him." "But…" I was cut off. "I won't abandon my brother, no matter what becomes of me… I'm sure you understand why." She gave me a firm look.

I _did _understand… At that moment, I knew trying to convince her to come with us was futile. She and Sartorius have always been close, and she'd do anything for him…

"I do." I finally nodded. "Leave while you can, but please, promise me you'll save Sartorius… The fate of the universe rests with you…" Sarina then looked at Jaden and Aster Phoenix. "Yeah, but what are we supposed to do?" The former asked. "I wish I had the answer, but I'm afraid you two are on your own. Remember, you are the Chosen Duelists, so trust your instincts!" She told them.

She then looked at me. "Promise me you'll get out of the Academy." "I can't…" I trailed off in a bit of shock at the sudden demand. "Serena, he wants to kill you. You need to get out of there!" The woman frowned. "I can't, my parents won't let me, remember?!" I exclaimed.

It wasn't just that, even though it was true, they would never believe me… I _didn't _want to run. Sartorius, my cousin and others were in trouble. I _couldn't _leave. Not after everything I had just heard. Sartorius was willing to cut off every communication to protect me from his prediction coming true… Me running would be just wrong, cowardly, and heartless.

I may not have been 'a chosen duelist' like Jaden and Aster Phoenix, but I still wanted to help somehow! I owed it to both Sartorius and Sarina…

"Serena, Sartorius wouldn't want you to stay either." The woman told me seriously. "I don't care, I want to help!" I retorted. "He didn't do all this just so you could get killed!" She argued. I shook my head defiantly with a glare.

She _wasn't _going to convince me…

That was when something like explosion could be heard. "You need to leave!" Sarina looked away from me. "COME ON!" Syrus and Hassleberry shouted. At that moment, Sarina started disappearing. Her feet were already under the surface…

"Jaden, Aster, I'm counting on you two." She told them as she disappeared even further. "We promise!" Jaden said immediately, making her nod. Finally, her eyes landed on me. She gave me a pleading look. However, I shook my head firmly. A look of defeat appeared on her face for a moment before she completely disappeared.

The next thing I knew was that Jaden grabbed me by my left hand and pulled me towards the exit. The three of us started running to where Syrus and Hassleberry were. All five of us then jumped through the light…

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. I looked around in surprise. It looked like the guys and I were lying in those things we had seen earlier… Except that they were wide open now.

I grabbed my throbbing head with a groan. "Is everyone alright?" "Looks like we're all intact…" Hassleberry replied to Jaden's question. "With some headache, but fine nonetheless." I muttered.

The others got out of those things, so did I. We walked outside of the attraction, to see Bastion, Atticus and Mister Muto sitting on stairs.

At that moment, while the others were talking, I could see four unknown guys walking out as well. They seemed to be in pain… But they were here, and that's what mattered.

My thoughts then went back to Sarina. I had just seen her again, and she disappeared… I knew she did it for best reasons, but it made me feel quite sad. My aunt was still missing. Ben and Sartorius weren't themselves, and now she was gone too… I was feeling slightly better, knowing they didn't mean to hurt me, but the situation was still dire.

"What are you thinking about?" Jaden asked, walking up to me. "Sarina…" I trailed off, brushing off brimming tears in my eyes. "She's probably sleeping somewhere inside." Aster told me, walking up to both of us.

"Then that means there has to be a way to save her. I'll talk to Seto Kaiba to see if we can do so." Mister Muto spoke up. "Thank you." I smiled at the older man, feeling a lot better after hearing those words. She may have been gone, but not forever… That was what mattered.

Aster's eyes landed on me. "But I don't understand why Sartorius ordered her to kill you if the prediction claimed he would do so…" He spoke up, just as the three of us were a bit away from others. "He had at least two chances of killing me at the Academy." I responded with a frown.

"What?" Jaden gaped while the professional duelist nodded. "When I was there, he assaulted and threatened you instead." "The first time was only a threat." I then added. "But why is he even trying to do that?" My friend then voiced his confusion. "Your guesses are as good as mine." I let out a sigh.

"As long as you stay away from him, I guess it will be fine." Aster commented. "Most probably. I'll do whatever I can to help you." I then told the two guys. Jaden nodded to me with a smile which I returned. "I won't let anything happen to you." Hearing those words made me even more relieved… Even though the rest of them was gone, I still had him… It brought me both comfort and joy. Aster, on the other hand, nodded with a frown.

That was when my PDA started ringing. I took it out curiously, so did the rest of the guys.

It looked like our trip was cut short for some reason… Crowler insisted we went to buses in front of our hotels now.

I felt a bit sad, since we've barely been here for a day… We didn't even get to see the rest of the things here!

"Too bad." I let out a sigh. "We'll be back," Jaden smiled. "We live only two hours away, remember?" He reminded. I smiled back, remembering it instantly. "Next time we come back; it will hopefully be under better circumstances." I pointed out, putting my right arm around his shoulders. "You bet it will." He grinned and put his left arm over my shoulders too.

Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Syrus and Hassleberry looking at us in confusion. Bastion and Atticus, on the other hand, chuckled at their reactions while Aster stayed quiet.

I briefly looked at the sky. I would do everything to help them get out of this mess, and save everyone… Until then, the most important thing was to stay positive. All of this wouldn't put discourage me. The idea of getting killed _was _frightening, but I wasn't going to give up.

Sarina decided to disobey her brother to spare my life... Sartorius decided to go that far with cutting off contact to protect me… They put everything on the risk. That only made me even more determined to help them, and others…

* * *

After thanking Mister Muto for everything, we made our way to the hotel. Atticus and Bastion decided to come along with us, since it didn't really make much of a difference anymore. There were less Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Slifer Red students than the Society Of Light after all…

I entered the bus to see Syrus sitting behind Jaden with a frown. Hassleberry sat next to him. "Here, Serena." He motioned towards the empty seat next to him with his hand. I walked to it with a smile and sat down. Atticus and Bastion then sat in front of us.

Finally, the bus started going towards the harbor. At that moment, I felt so tired from today's events… I just wanted to sleep.

Closing my eyes, I leaned on what I guessed was the seat… But it didn't feel like one. This felt a lot more comfortable for some reason…

I quickly opened my eyes to see I was leaning on Jaden's right shoulder instead. "Sorry." I quickly apologized, straightening up. "Chill out," He let out a laugh. "I didn't mind it back then, so why should I mind it now?" He pointed out.

My eyes widened slightly as I realized what he was referring to. Sometimes, when we were kids, Jaden would let me sleep with my head on his shoulder… I would let him do the same with my shoulder. Those sleeps were never long after all, it was more like closing your eyes for a brief moment of time…

"You don't mind?" I repeated, wanting to make sure. "Nope." He shook his head with a grin. "Then great." I grinned as well, putting my head on his right shoulder and closing my eyes. Resting like this was a lot more comfortable…

"What's that about, Sarge?" I could hear Hassleberry asking in surprise. "I'll… I'll explain to you later." Jaden responded with a chuckle.

I soon found myself drifting off to sleep…

**Third Person's POV**

All buses were riding towards the Domino City harbor. Inside one of them was Sartorius, sitting at its back. Right now, the man was angry, since he knew his sister had failed to do one of two tasks, he ordered her.

At that moment, the bus of Slifer Red dorm passed by. For a brief moment, Sartorius could see Jaden looking through the window. Serena was sleeping next to him, with her head on his shoulder.

Then, another vehicle passed, revealing Aster inside it.

"Both of them?" Sartorius gasped in astonishment, realizing what that meant. Not only did Sarina disobey him, she had also been defeated…

Putting his hands together, the man looked at the floor of the bus. White light started glowing around him. The force of it was so strong, that it was threatening to break glass of the windows on the bus… Some students even gasped in surprise. Ben was among them, sitting right next to Chazz. They looked at each other shocked, before looking towards the back of the bus.

"Jaden, Aster, Serena…" Sartorius trailed off sinisterly, looking up. "You three are first…" And then, he started laughing…

**Well, finally done! One of chapters I've been looking forward to writing for quite some time now… Hopefully, some things are a bit clearer! ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it, and until next time! :)**


	26. A Tournament?

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked both their development, and the twist! ;)**

**Kim Nanoha: Aw, thank you, those words mean a lot! :) Glad you liked it!**

**Guest: Thank you for pointing out that error, I'll pay attention to it in upcoming duels. :)**

**This chapter's and the next one are inspired by 'Generation Next'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"SAY WHAT?!" Syrus' shouting voice could be heard inside Slifer Red dorm, or, one particular room, to be precise. Jaden flinched slightly at his friend's loud tone. "Well, what I have just said?" He pointed out with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head. The response he got was his two friends' jaws dropping to the floor. Their eyes were even wider, he noticed.

Now that Jaden remembered it, he hadn't seen Syrus this shocked since… Since he told him about trading his bed mattress for a card last year. However, back then, that shock soon became anger, while now, he was still gaping like a fish. Hassleberry was no better with expressing his astonishment.

It's been a few days since they returned from the Domino City trip. During that time, everything was rather calm. Seeing they were still rather confused about some things, Syrus and Hassleberry finally got Jaden to sit down and explain it to them. Well, mostly, why he and Serena were so close all of a sudden, and what the deal was with Serena, Sartorius and his sister.

"Wait, Sarge," The taller guy spoke up, finally regaining a bit of his senses. "If I understood it, you and Serena used to be best friends and neighbors?" He repeated astonished. "Yup." The brown-haired duelist nodded. "So that's why you constantly went after her…" Syrus spoke up with a frown. "In fairness, I couldn't remember her until a few days ago." Jaden quickly pointed out, not noticing the frown on his best friend's face.

"Any idea why?" Hassleberry questioned. "Your guesses are as good as mine and Serena's." He responded sheepishly. "Well, I'm happy for you two, Sarge." The taller guy then smiled. Jaden smiled back at him.

Hassleberry let out a sigh. "But how does she know Sartorius and his sister?" He asked. "They used to look after her when she was younger." Jaden replied simply. "Oh…" Hassleberry trailed off while Syrus nodded without saying anything. "Makes sense why she defended him that day..." The former then mused.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, making all of their heads turn around. "Jaden, you won't believe what I've just read!" Serena ran into the room excitedly with rolled newspapers in her right hand. Jaden opened his mouth to ask her what she was referring to, only for someone else to beat him to it.

"I thought you would have learned by now to knock before entering." Syrus spoke up sarcastically. The red-haired girl looked at him, her eyes widening in realization. Her cheeks started turning red immediately. "Sorr… Sorry!" She exclaimed frantically, tugging at her long, messy hair. By now, both it, and her face were an equal shade of red. "I do try to knock, it's just that…" She then started rambling, before Jaden cut her off.

"Chill out. It was an accident." "It was also when she barged in recently…" Syrus folded his arms with a frown. Hassleberry kept looking between all three of them back and forth. "I said I was sorry…" The girl reminded in confusion. "Chill out, Sy. It happens." Jaden put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. He then stood up from the floor, where the three of them had been sitting before.

He walked up to Serena. "What have you read?" He then asked curiously. "Well…" The girl looked around the room, her light blue eyes landing on other two occupants for a few moments. before clearing her throat. They then landed on her brown-haired friend yet again. "Can we discuss this…" She cleared her throat and pointed with her thumb behind her. "Oh… You mean…" Jaden trailed off in realization. She nodded. "Sure." He smiled.

"I'll see you guys later." He then turned around and waved. Immediately after, the two of them were out. "Of course, he goes with her. That's all he ever does these few days." "What was that, Private?" Hassleberry raised an eyebrow. "Nothing…" Syrus let his arms fall to the side with a sigh.

**Serena's POV**

"What's got you so excited?" Jaden questioned in a bit of amusement once we were on the clearing in front of the dorm. He must have noticed I was jumping up and down like crazy. But I couldn't resist it! I may have looked like an idiot, but it was worth it!

"Sorry," I apologized with my cheeks still red from before. "But what I've just found in today's newspapers is too good to be true!" I then unfolded the newspapers and started looking through them. After a few moments, I finally found the page I was searching for.

I then gave it to Jaden so he could read it. "It says they've seen one of missing 'Industrial Illusions' workers in Domino City?" He read out loud. "Si." I nodded with a grin. "It even says they captured a photo of him!" I then pointed at the paragraph in the newspapers.

"A man named Oliver Johnson." Jaden read before looking up at me. "Does that name sound familiar to you?" He asked curiously. I shook my head. "I don't exactly know names of my aunt's colleagues…" I trailed off in a bit of embarrassment. He sighed. "Why did I even ask?" He then let out a laugh. "Makes me wonder as well, since you know I'm terrible with other names." I agreed wholeheartedly.

"I guessed you could at least remember some…" "Back in October, I couldn't even remember Crowler's name." I put both of my hands on his shoulders and patted them lightly with a serious look on my face. "Really?" He looked at me wide-eyed.

I nodded. "I was literally praying for either you, Bastion, Ben, or Syrus to say it while we were in his office." "What about Bonaparte?" He asked in a bit of amusement. I rolled my eyes for a moment before they landed on him yet again.

"He was easier for remembering, since he immediately noticed I was Italian, and started telling Crowler all about our stereotypes." I stopped, looking up for a few seconds. "That, plus his name is like Napoleon's." I pointed out with my right index finger.

A look of amusement appeared on Jaden's face. "Do I even want to hear them?" "Oh, nothing, just the ones with mobsters and terrible drivers…" I trailed off sarcastically. "The most insulting ones?" He guessed. "Si." I nodded. "Thankfully though, Crowler interrupted us before we could start discussing each other's stereotypes properly."

"Wait, you know about French stereotypes too?" He asked in surprise. I nodded. "_A lot_ of them, in fact… Aunt Maria told me." I then shook my head to get back to our previous topic, seeing that explaining Aunt Maria's experience with the world and her family roots would take quite a while. I could do that another time.

"Anyway, the point is, I didn't remember Crowler's name until Bastion said it." "If it makes you feel better, when I had to duel him for my entrance exam, at first I thought he was some kind of an Academy mascot." Jaden grinned sheepishly.

The moment I heard those words, I started laughing. It was nothing against Crowler, but the way Jaden said it, and his thoughts concerning the man himself…

"That's a story I'd like to hear one day." I was brushing off my tears from all the laughter. "I'll gladly tell you." He smiled. I smiled back before looking at the newspapers in his hands. "Anyway," I pointed at them. "Since Aunt Maria went missing, and they saw one of missing people, that means she might be somewhere nearby as well." I explained.

Jaden looked at me and the newspapers back and forth for a few moments. "It seems possible…" He trailed off curiously. "After all this time, there are finally some good news." I sighed in relief. "Ben would be happy to hear that." He noted. "If he weren't acting like this…" I pointed out with a frown.

"He's not himself, just like the others." He reminded. "I know," I looked up. "And it's relieving. Until a few days ago, I was convinced he and Sartorius hated my guts… I felt completely alone." I finished dejectedly.

"I know the feeling… But you're not alone." Jaden put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. "You have me, and the rest of the guys. We'll get out of this." He smiled.

While I considered Jaden my friend, the same couldn't be said for Syrus, Bastion, Hassleberry and Atticus. They were… _Acquaintances_. I didn't feel as comfortable around them as with Jaden. However, I decided not to tell him that. Not yet, at least, since those were his friends after all.

I simply smiled back and hugged him. Our hug lasted for a few moments. When we were younger, I would enjoy them, but now, I also cherished every moment like that. I missed the feeling of affection towards my friend, and warmness of those hugs… I wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world.

"But I still don't get," I started as we pulled away. "What kind of evil force made Sartorius brainwash all of them." I ran a hand through my hair with a frown. "Beats me." Jaden shrugged. "There must be a way to find out…" I trailed off, looking in the direction leading towards the White Dormitory.

"Maybe we could get closer to their dormitory…" I mused. "You do remember what Sarina had said?" He reminded. "I remember." I frowned, remembering Sarina's words. "If you go there, you'll just give him more chances to kill you." "But there's got to be a way to find out more about that force without getting closer!" I then let out a groan, running both hands through my hair by now.

Jaden rubbed the back of his head quietly for a few moments. "Reminds me of how you always wanted to know everything your aunt mentioned." He let out a chuckle. "What?" I gave him a perplexed look.

"When your aunt used to look after us, you would question her about some things she mentioned. If she refused to say it, then you would grab books and start looking for it. I think I even heard her telling Mum how she had to watch what she was saying around you." He explained, trying not to laugh.

"_Cazzo!" Aunt Maria's shouting could be heard. "What happened?" I could hear Sarina asking in confusion while I was getting closer to the door. "I hit my head…" By now, I was finally in front of the living room._

"_Aunt, what's 'cazzo'?" My seven-year-old self spoke up curiously. Both of their eyes widened. "It's… Nothing!" Aunt Maria let out a nervous laugh. "You have to watch what you're saying around her…" Sarina gave her a warning look._

_Aunt looked at her. "Why? She'll forget it in a matter of seconds!" "What's 'cazzo'?" I repeated. "Nothing, dear." Seeing she wasn't going to tell me, I raced to the nearest book shelf and grabbed the Italian dictionary._

He was right, I remembered those situations now… She would be near to losing it whenever something like that happened. Heck, Sarina and Sartorius had to tell her thousand times to watch what she was saying around me… They knew it first-hand after all.

But that didn't matter at the moment. It only reminded me of what I could actually do… I was so stupid not to think of it!

And I wanted to be a biologist, huh? There was no way I could become one if I didn't do what they always did; _researching _things… Granted, I couldn't become one if I didn't have a degree… And that couldn't happen without attending university, which couldn't happen until I graduated from this place.

However, I had to set my priorities straight. Getting through all of the current chaos was the most important thing right now!

"Jaden, you're a genius." I grinned at my friend. "I am?" He repeated in utter confusion. "Si! How could I be such a freaking moron?!" I tugged at my hair in disbelief, pacing back and forth. "If you could explain it…" Jaden trailed off, looking at me perplexed.

"There's got to be something in the Academy's library!" I told him excitedly. "The Academy has a library?" He repeated in what seemed to be a mixture of surprise and confusion. I nodded with a smile. "Never knew that, since me and books don't exactly get along, as you already know…" Jaden stated sheepishly.

"But you used to listen whenever I said something about nature." I reminded. "The only thing I ever paid some attention to." "Care to enlighten me?" I asked with a small smirk, wanting to see whether he truly remembered that part or not.

Jaden frowned for a moment. "Right now, I only remember most disturbing things…" He trailed off. "Disturbing?" I raised an eyebrow. "Don't get me started on that shell you claimed could destroy ships."

"Oh, the shipworm?" I presumed. "Whatever it's called already." "It can only destroy wooden ships. Sailors used to have a lot of trouble with the shipworm back then." I explained with a small smile. "But it's not disturbing, it's nature!" I then shook my head in amusement. "Nature can be disturbing sometimes." Jaden argued.

"If you say so." I chuckled. "Anyway, thanks, I could hug you right now!" I then exclaimed, feeling even more excited. Finally, maybe I could get to find out more about that evil force Sarina had mentioned! "Then what's stopping you?" Jaden asked in amusement. "Nothing…" I trailed off sheepishly after a few moments and threw my arms around him. He let out a laugh, hugging me back.

I could have stayed like that for quite some time… Except that someone calling our names made us pull away.

Bastion was racing towards us. He cleared his throat once he finally stopped in front of where we were. "While I hate to interrupt whatever you two are doing…" He trailed off uncertainly, looking between us back and forth. "We were just talking. Isn't that what friends do?" Jaden asked perplexed. "Oh, alright then." The British guy nodded with a frown.

"Anyway, I've just run into Crowler. He and Bonaparte are telling everyone to come to the auditorium right away." "Why?" Jaden questioned, now even more confused. "Crowler didn't say anything," Bastion let out a sigh. "But I heard rumors that Sheppard's returned."

I frowned since I didn't know who that was. Jaden, on the other hand, grinned. "Sweet! Sheppard's the best!" He cheered. Bastion shook his head in amusement. "Where are Syrus and Hassleberry?" He then asked. "They're still in our room." "Then I'll go and tell them too."

"We'll find places in the auditorium." Jaden nodded with a smile, wrapping his right arm around my left one. Bastion looked between us back and forth before nodding yet again. "In that case, see you inside." He was then off to tell the others as well.

The brown-haired guy looked at me. "Let's go find some good places inside." He said excitedly. "Sure," I nodded, still a bit confused with everything. "But who's that?" I then asked, my eyebrows furrowing. "He's the Chancellor." He explained. "But isn't that Crowler?" I was feeling more and more confused by every second that passed…

"He was the Chancellor before Crowler." Jaden explained. "Oh." I nodded. Things were a bit clearer to me. "Does that mean he's the Chancellor again, or…" I then trailed off. "I don't know, really." He shrugged. "That's why we'd better get there as fast as possible." A grin then appeared on his face. I simply nodded.

While I understood a bit, this was still confusing… It also ruined my chances of going to the library. It would unfortunately have to wait…

"Let's get going then." I spoke up, making him nod with a grin. We were then on our way to the main building, with our right and left arm still wrapped around each other respectively.

* * *

"If Sheppard really is back, then it makes me wonder what that means for Crowler." Jaden mused while we were inside the building. "Just wait till he learns what he tried to do with Alexis, Ben and me." I smirked. "Wait," He suddenly stopped, looking at me in surprise. "You were caught up in that thing too?" His eyes were wide.

I nodded with a smirk. "Si." I looked down for a moment. "In fact, that's why I had to duel Bonaparte. If I had lost, then both Ben and I would have been obliged to sing." I chuckled, my eyes meeting his. "Man…" My friend trailed off with a laugh. "Anyway, thankfully I didn't." "Would have it been that bad?"

"My singing is equal to door creaking, as Bastion would say." I looked at Jaden seriously. "He really said that?" He rubbed the back of his head in surprise. "No," I shook my head. "Actually, he did, but he was referring to Alexis, which earned him a slap from her." I face palmed as memories of that event flashed through my mind. "He did it to help her, of course, but it backfired…" I trailed off, seeing he was staring at me.

"But Ben said he was a terrible singer!" Jaden then pointed out in amusement. "You're telling me?" I raised an eyebrow. "Jaden, he tried to convince me he was worse out of two of us." "He said so too." He started laughing.

I rolled my eyes at that statement. "Let's just get in there." I tilted my head towards the door of the auditorium.

Finally, he stopped laughing. "Whatever you say, Serena." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes yet again, this time with a smirk. "Just get in, will you?" I let out a laugh, pulling him by his arm towards the entrance. "Your grip is stronger." Jaden noted playfully, just as we entered the auditorium. "Well, what did you expect? We're obviously older now!" I pointed out and burst in laughter. He joined in, and it lasted for a few more seconds, until…

"ACCARDI! YUKI!" Bonaparte's booming voice made my heart rate go faster in shock. With a joint yelp, Jaden and I stopped laughing immediately. All eyes were on us, from all around the room. Bonaparte was down there with Crowler. A glare was on his face.

"THIS IS THE AUDITORIUM, NOT YOUR ROOM!" He then roared. "Uh, we live in different rooms?" Jaden reminded a bit nervously. I glanced at him; my eyes wide. What the hell did just go through his mind?!

At hearing those words, some students burst in laughter. From what I could see, those were mostly the Society Of Light's members. Crowler sighed and looked away, while Bonaparte face palmed.

He then looked up at where we were. "THAT'S WHAT I MEANT!" He shouted. "Sorry, sorry!" Jaden exclaimed, covering his head with hands. "Sorry." I added. Bonaparte frowned at us but nodded.

"Let's just pick where to sit." I quickly told Jaden, seeing some people were still looking at us. "Any ideas?" He asked. My eyes landed on the fifth row. Ben, Alexis and Chazz were sitting there, right next to Sartorius. The three of them then started talking between each other.

Sartorius' purple eyes, however, were looking straight in our direction. His mouth formed a thin, straight line, and his arms were folded.

It frightened me a bit. He rarely had that expression on his face, and that only happened when he was either mad or upset. Even with all the trouble I caused as a kid, he rarely got that angry… Seeing the expression made it clear to me that I should get away from him.

"As long as it's away from Sartorius." I whispered to Jaden. He nodded to me. "The second row?" He whispered. I frowned for a moment, thinking about whether that was a good idea.

All upper rows were full by now, so was the first one… Sartorius wouldn't dare try to pull anything in front of employed people here. Or at least, that's what I believed… I would feel more comfortable if it was a row behind him instead… Except that was pretty much impossible.

"It's still close to him though…" I whispered to Jaden. "Just relax. He won't dare do something in front of Crowler and Bonaparte. Even if he does, he'll have to go through me." He whispered back reassuringly, squeezing my hands as well. Those words, along with that gesture, made me feel a bit relieved. While the society was here, I still had him… "Okay then." I looked up at him with a smile.

We walked down to the beginning of second row and sat there. Not long after, Bastion, Syrus and Hassleberry joined us there. Syrus sat on Jaden's left, followed by Hassleberry and Bastion.

Atticus, Aster, and those two girls sat in a row behind. By now, the auditorium was full. Almost everyone was talking about what this was supposed to mean.

Finally, the door opened. A plump, bald man, who was wearing a long, maroon blazer, walked through. "Is that the Chancellor?" I asked Jaden quietly. He nodded back to me, just as the man stopped in front of the screen. One thing I couldn't help noticing was Crowler's and Bonaparte's forms. They were as still as soldiers from an army…

"First of all, it's good to be back!" The Chancellor spoke up. "Judging by your clothes, we've got a popular new white dorm on campus…" He mused with a smile, his eyes darting over to where Crowler and Bonaparte were. "Sorry!" "Sorry!" The two men chorused.

Truth to be told, I was wondering how much that man actually knew about what was going on here… Since Crowler and Bonaparte were so casual with letting the sect do as they pleased. Though, Sartorius could have threatened them too if they had refused to comply… Anything was possible with that force possessing him. It just made me more eager for this meeting to be over. Then, I could go to the library and try to find out more about that thing…

My eyes briefly looked up, towards the row where most of the Society's members were sitting. All of them were looking at the Chancellor.

"Well, despite these changes," I quickly turned my head back to listen to the man in front of us. "I'm still in charge! And I have a special gift to offer all of you!"

The moment he said that, everyone started talking at the same time. From what I could hear, they were mostly pleased with that surprise… Although I didn't have the slightest clue what it was supposed to be.

"Man, it's good to have Sheppard back." Jaden smiled, looking at Syrus and me. He also reminded me of what the Chancellor's name was… I had to try to keep it in my mind this time. "Sheppard." I repeated to myself quietly. "It sure is, Jay. He's the best." A small smile appeared on Syrus' face. "Well, anything's better than Crowler, right?" Hassleberry presumed.

Bastion shook his head in what seemed to be amusement. "Just let him say the rest…" At that moment, I could hear someone clearing their throat.

"LET THE POOR MAN SPEAK!" Bonaparte roared, almost making me jump up from my seat in shock. "Why, thank you," The Chan… _Sheppard_, pointed at the screen behind him. "And now, I give you the 'GX Dueling Tournament," He declared, just as the screen turned on.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The screen showed some sort of a blue and gold medal. Initials 'GX' were at its center…

"A competition for the next generation of master duelists! It's like nothing you've ever experienced before, and it starts right now!" Sheppard continued. "Duelists from around the globe will converge here, students and professionals are welcome! And when the dust settles, only one duelist remains… He will be known as the world's greatest!" That was when everyone started cheering.

And me? The man said those words so quickly I had no time to process them while he was talking… But now, everything sank in.

There was going to be a freaking _dueling competition_… The thought of that just made me want to run out of the auditorium. While I did decide to respect dueling and cherish good memories, that didn't mean I wanted to participate in something like this! As far as I was concerned, 'respecting' it was not talking smack…

"The entire island is your field. To start, you'll each get a 'GX' medallion," He showed us a blue and silver medallion, pretty similar to the one on the screen. "The rules are simple. You must accept the first duel you're challenged to," My eyes widened at those words. "And you must participate in one duel each day," The more he said, the worse I was feeling… "If you win, you get all of your opponent's medals. The final winner will be easy to spot, they'll have all of the medallions!"

I grabbed my hair with both of my hands nervously, not knowing what else to do by now.

"During my travels, I've met some of the world's most talented duelists. They have all been invited, because I truly believe you are as good as they are. Now get out there, and make your Chancellor proud, will you?"

"_Dio santo_…" I muttered with my eyes wide, grabbing my hair and tugging it out of pure panic. Except that I didn't get a chance to do anything else because Jaden's foot suddenly jumped on the part of the desk in front of me.

I quickly looked up to see him standing on the chair with his left foot as well. "What are we waiting for? I've got a tournament to win!" He said excitedly.

Of course he'd be thrilled about something liked this… But while he had a tournament to win, I had a tournament I wanted to _avoid_…

"Don't forget last year… The grand prize was a kiss!" Syrus reminded sheepishly. Whatever that was supposed to mean, it looked like Jaden was quite uncomfortable about it…

* * *

I looked at the medallion in my hand while walking out of the auditorium. The more I looked at it, the more I felt uncomfortable…

As soon as he was done with his speech, Sheppard told Crowler, Bonaparte and Dorothy to give each student a medallion. I was the last one in line (on purpose of course), and at first, I didn't want to accept it at all… But I couldn't say 'no' to Dorothy. Out of three of them, she was kindest to me. Besides, I never refused to accept it out loud, since that would be rude, but more in my mind…

I really wanted to ask Sheppard whether the participation was mandatory or not. I just couldn't imagine myself running around, accepting challenges or challenging someone else. While I did challenge Sartorius to a duel that day, it was done out of anger… Plus, I could have lost my head that day. I really didn't want to do this. It was something _Jaden _would do, not me! I also wanted to go to that library instead… I had to talk to Sheppard about this, I just had to. Hopefully, I'd convince him to let me sit this one out…

"HELP!" Syrus' screaming made me look up in surprise. He was running down the corridor, with Hassleberry, and a lot of other Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and Society students on his heels.

I blinked for a moment, still a bit confused about what just happened…

"Serena." Jaden's voice made me look to my left. He ran up to me. "You got the medallion too?" He asked with a smile. I simply nodded, showing him the thing in my right hand. "Sweet." "I guess so." I nodded yet again, not really knowing what to say about the subject.

Reminiscing of our memories involving dueling was one thing, but our opinions were so different when it came to this tournament… I felt like this was quite a touchy subject to talk about.

"What was that with Syrus?" I asked, trying to change the topic. "Oh, everyone wants to challenge him to a duel." Jaden waved it off. "Aster went outside, while Bastion went to challenge someone too." He then grinned. I let out a small smile and nodded, feeling a bit awkward.

"What about you?" Jaden then asked me. "What about me?" I repeated, feeling even more like an idiot. "Are you going to challenge someone, or are you going to let them challenge you instead?" "I…" I trailed off, wondering what to say.

This was Jaden I was talking to. Out of all people I knew, he loved dueling the most… But he also knew I didn't like it as much as he did. Surely, he would understand… Wouldn't he?

"I'm going to ask Sheppard to sit this one out." I said simply. "Why?" Jaden's eyes widened. "I just can't." I frowned. "But you said you didn't hate dueling anymore. You said you'd respect it from now on, and cherish old times…" He reminded.

I nodded. "That's just it. I won't talk smack about it, but I'm not willing to participate in this tournament either. It's something _you _would do…" I trailed off. "Serena, that's just stupid." He shook his head. "Maybe to you, but the idea of this tournament makes me feel rather uncomfortable." I replied calmly.

I really didn't want to argue about something like this… And not after I had just got my best friend back!

"It will be good for you!" Jaden grabbed both of my hands with a smile. "I beg to differ." I shook my head coldly. "Come on, at least give it a try…" "Just why do you think it could be good for me?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

While Jaden was my friend, and I did appreciate his persistence… Right now, it was beginning to get on my nerves. I knew he meant only the best, but if I told him something, why was he so insistent on changing my mind about this subject?! If it was any other topic, I wouldn't get mad at all!

"You'll get a hang of dueling again. You won't feel so uncomfortable anymore." He smiled. "But…" "You just have to jump right in and try." I was looking at him for a few moments, thinking about what he had just said…

But, honestly, I just didn't see it happening. I couldn't imagine myself feeling comfortable in that tournament, no matter what Jaden said.

"Sorry, but I can't." I shook my head and took my hands out of his grip. "Have fun dueling." I smiled at him and started walking towards the Chancellor's office.

* * *

Finally, I could see the door of the office on my right. I was about to walk through…

"What's wrong? Do I sense a slight tone of mistrust? There's no need for you to fear me…" Sartorius' icy voice was coming from the inside. It literally made me jump up with a yelp in fear. I just hoped no one had heard me… By now, my heart was racing like crazy. What in the world was Sartorius doing here at this moment?! Couldn't he have done whatever he wanted to do while I wasn't on my way to Sheppard's office?!

Sarina's words of him wanting to kill me immediately appeared in my mind. The smartest thing was to just get out of here, and come back later… I loved life! It may have been a bit messed up lately, but I found Jaden, and found out Ben, Sarina and Sartorius didn't hate me… Was getting killed here really worth it just because of some tournament? _No_.

"Why would I fear a scrawny misfit like you?" Suddenly, I could hear Sheppard saying that. I couldn't help it. The curiosity got the better of me.

Knowing I was crazy for doing this, I pressed my back against the wall. I also made sure to be away from the door, so they wouldn't open. If they did, then Sheppard and Sartorius would know someone else was here…

For a few moments, no words came out of the office. "That's not to say I won't keep my eye on you… But you seem harmless, so I've invited that duelist you asked for." Sheppard's voice could be heard once again. "Thank you…" I could hear Sartorius saying, making shivers run down my spine.

The way he said those words showed he was quite happy about that person being invited… But, even though it sounded happy, it also sounded quite sinister.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'm afraid I've got to go…" The moment I heard those words, I ran down the corridor in panic. I just couldn't risk Sartorius seeing me, nor did I want that!

* * *

Since his footsteps could be heard nearby, I decided to hide in the auditorium. After making sure he passed it, I waited a few more minutes. Finally, I decided to come out. Sartorius must have been outside by now.

Yet, I couldn't help wondering while I was walking towards the Chancellor's office. Who was that person Sheppard had mentioned? And why did Sartorius want the person to come here?

I was about to turn right… When a hand suddenly pushed me away harshly. "Hey!" I exclaimed with a yelp, completely caught by surprise. "Didn't they teach you not to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation?" A familiar, icy voice made shivers ran down my spine.

Sartorius came out from where I was about to turn right. His eyes were glaring daggers at me, while his mouth formed a straight, thin line. I immediately knew I shouldn't have stayed there to listen to those two, since he was furious.

I should have tried to get away. But I felt completely frozen, with him looking at me like that. I was so scared…. By now, I even started shaking.

Suddenly, the man's eyes started glowing purple. To make it even worse, they were still looking into mine… Finally, I managed to muster up some courage to cover my eyes and look away. Running away was certainly a cleverer option, but at that moment, I just couldn't think clearly…

"Answer me when I ask you something!" I was suddenly grabbed by collar of my blazer violently. "Don't touch me!" I screamed and quickly took hands off my eyes. I shoved Sartorius harshly out of pure panic. Thankfully, it made him let go of me…

I was taking deep breaths in attempts to calm down. My eyes didn't leave the man, who was getting off the ground by now. My actions may not have been smart, since he looked extremely angry… But, right now, I was too panicked to care.

"Don't you dare come near me…" I trailed off, trying to sound threatening. I then raced down the corridor, wanting to just get out of the damn building.

* * *

Once I was far away from the main building, I let out a sigh of relief. Everything was a lot easier now…

I let myself sit down on grass near the Slifer Red dorm. I then took the medallion out of my blazer's pocket.

While I was happy that I managed to get away from Sartorius, it cost me asking Sheppard about that tournament… I would have to go and ask him later. Right now, I didn't dare enter that building again so soon. Not without someone's company, at least.

He was just as violent when I lost that duel… I was apparently supposed to become brainwashed because of it. The same thing was supposed to happen to Hassleberry… The same thing happened to all the duelists who lost against Chazz. Bastion even claimed Alexis got brainwashed like that as well, by losing.

I wasn't even sure what the deal was with being brainwashed because of losing… Nor did I understand how come I didn't get brainwashed back then. But I didn't want it to happen again… Did I really want to put myself in such vulnerable position?

While I was still trying to get used to everything, I certainly didn't want to get brainwashed. That would happen if I lost… And that would happen if I didn't get better. I had to defend myself. I wanted to avoid physical contact, but dueling was certainly something I could work on. I couldn't be uncomfortable with it if a Society member or Sartorius challenged me to a duel… They could do that for all I knew. They had right to do so, since those were the tournament's rules. It was a perfect chance for them to brainwash more people.

I didn't want to come across them yet… But it was also clear to me Jaden was right. I had to jump in and try. This was a perfect chance for me to get a hang of it, and stop being uncomfortable… It didn't even have to be fun to me. I just had to become comfortable with it, and this whole 'tournament' idea…

I owed Jaden an apology for being such a freaking idiot. Granted, I still owed one to Sartorius as well from before this whole mess started… Words like the ones they had said always helped me so much!

Letting out a sigh, I considered my options. I could duel, but I could also use some of that time to look through the library…

I stood up from the grass while holding the medallion tightly. Hopefully, I could find Jaden first before anyone challenged me to a duel… Then I could challenge them later instead. If not, then I'd just duel, no matter what.

I started walking towards the Slifer Red dorm.

**Well, another chapter done! And yes, finally, the GX tournament! I'm so excited for upcoming chapters...**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	27. Reckless Gambling

**Ghost Of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! Hahaha yes, but with what's coming, this was only warming up… ;)**

**Kim Nanoha: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! Here's the next chapter! :)**

**Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! Here's the next chapter! :)**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Auntie?" "Yes?" "What do you know about space?" A girl's voice could be heard. "Why are you suddenly interested in that, dear?" A woman asked. "Mama mentioned it yesterday… But she didn't say what it was!" _

_The woman let out a chuckle. "Space is like an area high above our heads. That's where Sun, stars, and planets are from." She explained. "Tell me more!" The girl exclaimed excitedly. "You're too small to understand it. It will only be boring to you." The woman replied. "Then tell me something that's not boring." The girl pleaded._

"_Fine, fine…" The woman chuckled yet again. "Let's see…" She frowned for a moment. "You know what a black hole is?" She asked. "No…" The girl shook her head in confusion. "It's a huge, black hole, that absorbs everything in space." "It sounds scary…" The girl trailed off, her eyes widening._

"_Why is it black?" "I don't know… However, it does have its opposite." "Really?" "Si," The woman nodded. "While black hole absorbs everything, its opposite exudes energy. Its waves of light can happen to fall on Earth. That's what I heard, anyway…" She trailed off. "What's it called?" "I think it's… The white hole… That's what the story says." _

_The girl frowned. "It's not real?" She asked perplexed. "I don't know whether it's real or not, I'm just telling you what I heard about it." The woman laughed, taking the girl in her arms. She then sat on a sofa, putting the girl on her lap. "Who told you that?" The girl asked curiously. "A little bird." A small smile appeared on the woman's face._

"_Tell me more!" The child pleaded. "That's the only thing I know. That, and…" Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "They said that whenever the waves reached Earth, something bad happened in the world." She finished, thinking about those words as well._

"_Bad?" "People would fight, and even more bad things would happen…" "But why? Light's supposed to do good things!" "Where did you get that from, little one?" The woman let out a chuckle in amusement. "When it's dark, you can't see anything without it!" "Clever girl…" She smiled, playing with one of the girl's red strands. "I'm confused too, but I'm telling you what I had heard. Everything bad occurred around the time those waves hit Earth."_

"_Wow…" The girl trailed off in surprise, making the woman laugh and hug her._

I exited my room with the Duel Disk strapped to my left arm. I had to have this thing with me all the time now that I was in the tournamnet… Anyone could challenge me in case I didn't challenge them!

I quickly checked whether my deck was in the box strapped to my waist. Thankfully, it was. That meant I was ready!

"Hey, you!" A male voice shouted, making me look up in surprise. A Slifer Red student ran up to the bottom of the stairs. He had dark hair, and hazel eyes. A Duel Disk was on his left arm. "Yes?" I asked warily.

However, frankly, I was sure I had an idea what he wanted… He was most probably going to challenge me to a duel.

"I challenge you to a duel!" The Slifer Red student declared. Si, _I knew it_… Not an hour had passed, and here I was, a target for duelists! I didn't even have a chance to find Jaden… There was a bright side to this though. That was an ordinary student, not the Society member, or Sartorius… Actually, I'd even take former over latter!

I quickly shook my head to get rid of those thoughts.

The guy had just challenged me to a duel. I couldn't bother with the Society or Sartorius right now!

"Then you're on." I nodded to the guy firmly, making him smirk. "What's your name?" He asked. "Serena." I replied shortly. "Yours?" "Moses." He replied. I simply nodded, staying quiet for a few moments. Hopefully, I was going to remember it until the end of the duel… Asking him what his name was in the middle of it would be quite embarrassing!

I took out my deck and shuffled it for a few seconds. Soon after, the deck was in the Duel Disk. I then walked downstairs, right in front of the guy… _Moses_, the guy's name was _Moses_!

"How many medallions do you have?" He asked me. "Only one, since this is my first duel." I told him with a shrug. "I already have three." He replied casually. "Actually, that will be four once I win." He then added with a smirk. "We'll see about that." I responded, folding my arms.

At that moment, that feeling of uneasiness washed over me yet again. Not only was I in a tournament, but this would be my first duel since I lost against Sartorius… However, I quickly decided to push those thoughts away. I promised to myself I'd try to get better in dueling, and feel more comfortable in events like these… There was no time to be uneasy about this!

"Then let's get to it!" He exclaimed and ran a bit away from me. I walked to the opposite side, so we were far away from each other. I took a deep breath and pushed the button on the back of Duel Disk. It turned on immediately. Moses did the same thing with his own one.

"Let's duel!" We then shouted in unison, drawing five cards each.

**Moses: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"I'll start!" Moses declared, drawing his sixth card. He put it in his right hand, along with other ones. After observing them for a few moments, he finally looked up at me. "I'll begin with Dunames Dark Witch in Attack Mode!" He put the card in its slot on the Duel Disk.

A lady-like creature dressed with wings appeared on the field **(ATK/DEF:1800/1050)**. I looked at it for a few moments, my eyebrows furrowing.

The first time I had ever seen that card, really… Despite being a student for nearly a year and a half by now, my knowledge was still rather limited when it came to _Duel Monsters_…

"I'll end my turn with three facedowns." He finished. "My turn." I spoke up, drawing the sixth card. The moment I looked at all of them, I knew what I could do for my first turn.

"I'll start with 'Mystical Space Typhoon'," I lifted up the card in my right hand. "To destroy one of your facedowns!" I pointed to the card on his furthest left. It revealed itself before disappearing. I had no idea what that card was, but it resembled three people dressed in some blue capes…

"Then I'll summon Ocean Amoeba in Attack Mode." The monster appeared on my side of the field in Attack Mode **(****ATK/DEF:900/400)**. "I'll set a facedown and end it for this turn." I then put a card in its intended slot.

If everything ended up going with my plans, I could give the guy some pretty big damage the moment he decided to attack my Amoeba… Well, he would have to summon a stronger monster, but the point was there. Its destruction would make him lose amount of Life Points equal to combination of Amoeba's Attack and Defense Points.

Moses drew another card. "I summon Absorbing Kid From The Sky in Attack Mode!" A monster which looked like a kid with white, feathery wings appeared **(****ATK/DEF:1300/1000)**. "Then I'll equip it with 'Cestus Of Dagla'!" He lifted up a Spell Card in his right hand. The monster's points immediately rose to 1800.

"Dunames Dark Witch, attack her monster!" The guy lifted up his right hand. The monster fired some sort of blast at my Amoeba, destroying it in process. Smoke appeared, making me cover my eyes as my Life Points dropped.

**Moses: 4000 LP**

**Me: 3100 LP**

"Because you destroyed my Amoeba, you lose Life Points equal to its Attack and Defense Points together!" I declared, taking arms off my eyes. Blue light glowed around his body, and his Life Points dropped as well.

**Moses: 2700 LP**

**Me: 3100 LP**

"It doesn't matter, since my other monster can still attack you directly!" He declared firmly. "Go, attack her!" He then shouted. His other monster flew to me and attacked me directly. I let out a yelp of pain. My Life Points dropped yet again.

**Moses: 2700 LP**

**Me: 1300 LP**

My Life Points have dropped drastically in only his second turn… That meant I would have to find a way to fight back. Not even Amoeba's Special Effect helped me much!

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention," Moses' voice made me look up. "Because it attacked you directly with Cestus Of Dagla, I gain amount of Life Points equal to the damage it inflicted on you!" He smiled smugly. Since it was 1800 points, then that meant… He would have 4500 Life Points?!

**Moses: 4500 LP**

**Me: 1300 LP**

I let out a groan of annoyance and tugged at my hair with my right hand.

What was I thinking?! I should have used my 'Flowing Back' facedown earlier! If I had, then he wouldn't have got the chance to get back those Life Points… If I didn't do something, I'd lose, and that certainly wouldn't be a good start in this tournament…

"I end my turn." "Sweet moves you have there, Moses." A familiar voice made me look up in surprise. Jaden walked up to the edge where the middle of our imaginary field was supposed to be.

The guy smirked. "Thanks, Jaden." "However, if I were you, I wouldn't count Serena out just yet." A smile then appeared on Jaden's face as he looked in my direction. I was simply staring at him with my mouth open.

I didn't expect him to appear here in the middle of our duel… And I was a bit surprised he was acting as if what I had told him a while ago was no big deal. But, then again, this was _Jaden _I was talking about… Whenever we had some disagreements, he would just let it pass…

"Show him, Serena." He grinned.

Hearing him cheering me on gave me a huge boost of confidence all of a sudden… I couldn't mess up this duel. I had no intention to. Not after my friend had just encouraged me to show this guy what I could do…

I nodded in Jaden's direction with a small smile before looking at my Duel Disk. "I draw!" I declared, drawing another card from my deck. I added the card to my left hand and looked at all of them. Finally, I got the card I needed…

"I'll start with summoning Wetland Flycatcher in Attack Mode." The plant appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1000/800)**. "Then I'll equip it with 'Nitrogen Boost', which gives it 1000 more points." I continued, lifting up the card in my right hand. The plant's points rose to 2000. "It will only take away a bit of my Life Points." Moses commented with a frown.

"I know," I frowned. "Which is why I'll also play 'Double Boost'." I took the card out of my left hand and lifted it up so he could see it. "With this Spell Card, Attack Points of my monsters double for one turn." I explained. "What?" The guy demanded, his eyes widening in surprise. "I think that means the flycatcher's points are 4000 now." Jaden told him with a smile from the sidelines. "I know what it means!" Moses retorted in panic.

He then narrowed his eyes. "I activate my facedown, 'Solar Ray'!" He cried, just as his facedown revealed itself. "What's that?" I asked in confusion. "For each LIGHT monster on my side of field, you lose 600 Life Points. Seeing there are two monsters…" "That's 1200 points." I breathed in astonishment. That meant I was down to only 100 Life Points…

Smoke appeared, making me cover my eyes.

**Moses: 4500 LP**

**Me: 100 LP**

"But my monster hasn't attacked you yet!" I then exclaimed, looking up. "Wetland Flycatcher, attack his Absorbing Kid!" I ordered, lifting up my right hand.

The reason why I chose that monster was because of its Equip Spell. I couldn't have him gaining more Life Points, now that I had only 100…

The plant flew to the monster equipped with that Spell Card and destroyed it. Smoke appeared, as Moses' Life Points dropped to 2300.

**Moses: 2300 LP**

**Me: 100 LP**

Unfortunately, the only card I still had in my hand was Mountain Wolf, and I couldn't summon it now… Hopefully, I could turn things around on my next turn. I still had my unused facedown as well.

"I end my turn. Flycatcher's Attack Points return to 2000 as well." I spoke up, just as the monster's points dropped to 2000 from before I had activated 'Double Boost'.

Moses drew another card. "First, I activate my facedown 'Call Of The Haunted', to bring back my monster from the graveyard in Attack Mode!" The monster I had just destroyed appeared on the field once again **(****ATK/DEF:1300/1000)**.

Honestly, I didn't understand the point since it had less points than my Flycatcher. There must have been some sort of a catch…

"Then I'll summon Magician Of Faith in Attack Mode." A magician with purple hair and a crescent moon staff in her hand appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:300/400)**. "Due to her summoning, her Special Effect activates," Moses spoke up, looking in my eyes from across the field. "I get to bring back a Spell Card from my graveyard, and I choose 'Cestus Of Dagla'!"

The card returned from the graveyard. He took it in his right hand. "Then I'll equip it to Absorbing Kid From The Sky." The monster's points rose to 1800 once again. I bit my lower lip.

If my assumptions were correct, he was going to try to destroy my monster. Sure, it would cost him some Life Points since my monster was stronger, but then he could attack me directly with the other one… But I _wasn't _going to let that happen. I had everything I needed to win this thing… Now I just had to pray he wouldn't have another trick up his sleeve.

"Now, attack her Wetland Flycatcher!" He ordered to his just-resurrected monster. "I activate 'Flowing Back'!" I cried. The facedown revealed itself. "What's that?!" Moses spoke up in surprise. "Your attack is negated, and you lose amount of Life Points equal to my monster's Attack Points." I spoke up with a frown.

"What?!" Orange light appeared Moses, making him flinch. His Life Points dropped to 300.

**Moses: 300 LP**

**Me: 100 LP**

"I end my turn." The guy frowned. I drew another card.

"I summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode." I declared, putting the card in its intended slot without looking at the other one. The wolf appeared, howling **(****ATK/DEF:800/1500)**. "Its Special Effect is that he can attack you directly." I explained, making his eyes widen. "Wait!" He exclaimed in what seemed to be panic.

However, I shook my head. "Mountain Wolf, attack him directly!" I ordered. The wolf let out a howl and raced towards Moses. It slashed at him with its claws. He let out a grunt of pain, and his Life Points finally dropped to zero.

**Moses: 0 LP**

**Me: 100 LP**

I took cards out of my Duel Disk and deactivated it. Monsters disappeared from the field. I put the deck in the box strapped to my waist and then looked up.

"Way to go, Serena, that was a sweet duel!" Jaden ran up to me with a smile. "Thanks." I nodded to him, not knowing what else to say at that moment.

That was when Moses walked up to us. "The deal is a deal. Here are your earned medallions." He offered me three of them. I was looking at them for a few moments. Seeing the guys were staring at me, I quickly took the medallions out of Moses' right hand with a quick 'thanks'.

Truth to be told, I still haven't registered that I actually won those medallions… Planning your moves for winning was one thing, actual victory was something else!

"You had some sweet moves there, Moses." Jaden told the guy who smiled with a sigh. "Not good enough, it seems." "The tournament has just begun. There's plenty of time for more duels." Jaden smiled back. "That's exactly why I'll go and see whether I can challenge someone else right away." Moses nodded.

His hazel eyes then landed on me. "That was a good duel. Best luck in the tournament." "Best luck to you too." I nodded back. He then ran off.

I looked at the medallions in my right hand. At that moment, I was feeling a bit of satisfaction, knowing that I won those three things myself… Wait. Was that… _Pride_? I certainly wasn't interested in dueling tournaments, it was just that… It felt nice to earn something by your actions, and not have others get it for you.

If anything, it was relieving I managed to win this duel, since I was a bit rusty…

"What made you change your mind about participating?" Jaden's voice brought me back to reality. I looked up to see him smiling at me. "Well…" I trailed off, gripping the medallions in my right hand more tightly. "I was damn determined to talk to Sheppard about not dueling, but my run-in with Sartorius kind of enlightened me…" I guessed with a shrug.

"What happened?" His eyes widened in surprise. "He was already in the office talking to Sheppard. I heard them just as I was about to enter, so I overheard a bit what the two were talking about. But Sartorius took it as me eavesdropping, which was why he almost assaulted me later in the hallway…" I let out a nervous laugh.

Seeing he was still staring at me, I decided to continue talking so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "I quickly pushed him away and ran out." "What were he and Sheppard talking about?" Jaden rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "Apparently, Sartorius asked Sheppard to invite some duelist." I explained with a frown.

"Then why would he get mad at you overhearing a simple request?" He wondered aloud. "Your guesses are as good as mine." I shrugged. "Anyway, his run-in with me kind of made me realize anything could happen if I lost against the Society Of Light member…" "You would get brainwashed." Jaden nodded.

I pursed my lips for a moment. "Most probably, even though that doesn't explain why I didn't get brainwashed when Sartorius beat me in our duel…" I trailed off. "You two had a duel?" He gaped.

It was then I realized there were some things I hadn't told Jaden yet. Maybe it was from all the excitement of seeing each other again. That, plus with what had happened with Sarina… _A lot _of things had happened for quite short time…

"It happened while you were dueling for the location of our field trip. I confronted Sartorius for snooping in my room, and he said some terrible things about my parents. I challenged him to a duel out of anger." I explained sheepishly. "And you lost." "Si." I nodded with a frown. "Even he seemed to be surprised that I wasn't brainwashed."

"Weird." Jaden commented. "But also good!" He then grinned. "I'd rather not 'see the Light'." I nodded in agreement. "What does that even mean?" He wondered with a chuckle. "Don't ask them. I did that to Sartorius, and the results were less-than-stellar. Chazz was no better when I mocked him for that phrase." I responded seriously.

I then took a deep breath, brushing memories of those two events out of my mind.

"Anyway, it made me realize I had to get better if I didn't want to get brainwashed. I mean, they can challenge anyone, as those are the tournament's rules." I stopped for a moment. "You were right about what you had said," I looked up at Jaden. "So I'm sorry for being a freaking idiot." "You weren't an idiot. You were just upset." He responded in confusion.

I shook my head. "But that happens quite often! Before you, Sartorius had told me something quite truthful, and I ignored it completely. I realized he was right too late… I can't even apologize properly now." A slight feeling of guilt washed over me at that moment.

First I decided to ignore Sartorius' advice, then Ben and I argued because I was rude… I had been mad at both Sarina and Sartorius for ignoring me, when they did that only to help me… And I argued with my aunt because she was hiding secrets from me. That was the last time I talked to her before her disappearance…

I should have appreciated time when everything was normal! I shouldn't have been so stupid…

True, I knew none of them hated me. I knew they were treating me like that because of current circumstances, such as that evil force. But the way they treated me still hurt a bit… I mean, I was literally avoiding Ben now, and running away from Sartorius like a cat from a dog!

"You'll get to say 'sorry' once we find a way to save them." Jaden linked my left arm with his right one with a reassuring smile.

His words immediately lifted up my spirits. While I was certainly still feeling guilty, it made me realize there was no point in feeling like that all the time. Once we saved them, I'd cherish normal time with them even more… There was no time to feel guilty if I wanted to help them!

"Why's it that you're always able to cheer me up so easily?" I looked up at Jaden with a small smile, putting the medallions in right pocket of my blazer. "I'm just that good." He shrugged with a smirk. I smacked the back of his head lightly with my right hand. "That didn't hurt at all."

"It wasn't supposed to. If it were, then you would be just like Ben when I took his 'come in whenever you want' seriously." I smirked as well. "You do know Syrus and Hassleberry were extremely angry about that?" Jaden asked with a laugh while he started leading us somewhere.

I rolled my eyes. "Then how was _I _supposed to feel? Hassleberry hit me with your blazer and a pillow right in face!" I pointed out and started laughing. "Is there anything wrong with my blazer?" Jaden raised an eyebrow. "Well, nothing concerning the blazer itself… I was more freaked out about running into you, or Syrus and Hassleberry after that eventful morning." I shrugged, the memories of that event flashing through my head.

Even though that event was still embarrassing, it was also something I could laugh about now…

"Oh, it sure _was _eventful. It's not every day you're in showers, and then hear shouting. I think you three woke up the whole dorm." Jaden started laughing again. "So that's why you weren't there as well…" I trailed off in realization.

"Wait, where are we going?" I then asked. "To the harbor. I had been there before deciding to see where you were." "What were you doing at the harbor?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Fishing, and waiting for professional duelists to arrive." He explained. "But why wait for professional ones when you can duel someone here?" "It seems more fun at the moment." He shrugged.

I shook my head with a small smile in amusement. Here he was, looking for professional duelists, while normal students were more than enough for me right now… Completely opposite from me.

Not long after, we were at the harbor. It seemed that there was an airplane which had just landed.

"That must be one of professional duelists." Jaden grinned. He was getting ready to run… When something else caught my attention. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Sartorius, Alexis, Ben, and Chazz not too far behind us.

Maybe this was the duelist Sartorius wanted Sheppard to invite so badly… But that wasn't the reason why I wanted to get out of the way. I just wanted to keep out of Sartorius' sight after that little scene we had had earlier… There was_ no _excuse for my cowardice, I knew that.

"Wait," I grabbed Jaden by his arm, and then pulled him to the side. We hid behind the warehouse. "What are you doing?" He demanded in confusion. "Don't you see Sartorius came as well?" I whispered to him. "Where?" He frowned.

"There." I pointed at the approaching quartet. "I could have called dibs on that duelist if you hadn't pulled us out of the way…" Jaden was still frowning. "Jaden, I think that's the duelist Sartorius wanted to see." I told him seriously. "I still would have been first."

I frowned, wanting to say something else… When I heard voices.

"Why are you two hiding behind the warehouse?" That sounded a lot like Hassleberry. I looked up to see him, Syrus and Bastion staring at us. "Serena pulled us here because she saw Sartorius approaching." Jaden explained.

The three guys looked at us back and forth. "Well, he's about to duel Prince Ojin of Misgarth." Syrus explained with a frown. "Misgarth?" I spoke up in surprise. The first time I heard of that name, really…

"Don't you two read news?" Syrus questioned in a bit of disbelief. "You sound like Ben." Jaden told him with a sigh. I covered my mouth with my right hand not to laugh at that statement. That really sounded like something Ben would say…

"It's a small kingdom, known for launching a SORA satellite recently." Bastion explained briefly. "Why's that satellite so important, soldier?" Hassleberry asked him a bit confused. "I don't know what it does." The British guy admitted. "Then let's just go and see that duel." Jaden urged them to hurry up.

While I knew a prince coming here was a big deal, I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to watch that duel or not… My intention was to keep out of Sartorius' sight for at least today!

Maybe I could wait a bit for them to leave, and then come and hide behind Bastion and Hassleberry for the rest of the duel… That sounded solid enough.

"You guys go on; I'll catch up with you." I quickly spoke up. "Why?" Jaden asked me perplexed. "I have to check something." I lied. The three guys nodded, but my friend still looked a bit hesitant. "Just go, I'll be right behind you!" I slightly pushed him towards them.

He finally nodded slowly, before he and the other guys were off.

They were right behind Alexis and Chazz, who were behind Sartorius and the prince guy. That was when I could see four men and a woman walking past the warehouse.

I got a bit closer to the side of the warehouse, so I could see them better. The woman was dressed in pink formal clothing, and had long red hair. From what I could see, she was carrying some sort of a case in her right hand. In fact, it looked like her hand was chained directly to the case…

The men were all dressed in black formal suits with sunglasses. They were carrying something in their hands… I peeked a bit closer, so I could see what it was. It seemed to be some sort of a small, black box. Actually, not just one. _Four _of them. Each man was carrying one in their hands.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I had no idea what that was supposed to be… Nor did I have time to ponder longer because someone's hands suddenly pulled me from behind, covering my mouth in process.

I tried to scream to no avail. Instead, I resorted to hitting the person's hands with my fists. I was doing it for a few seconds as strong as I could, when…

"Calm down, you wretch!" A familiar voice made my eyes widen in astonishment. The person took hands off my mouth. He grabbed my hand and quickly spun me around, so we were facing each other. It was _Ben_.

"What do you want from me…" I started, trying to sound threatening. At the same time, I took a step back, wanting to try to run away… When he grabbed my right hand harshly. "I told you to calm down." He hissed angrily. His green eyes were looking right into my light blue ones.

A frown appeared on my face. "Why should I?" I demanded. He opened his mouth, apparently wanting to say something… But then he put a hand on his face with a groan of what seemed to be pain. It was quite a confusing sight, that was for sure…

"Just shut up and listen!" My cousin growled and took the hand off his face. He then grabbed my other hand. "It's not what it seems… What my mum had…" "What…" "Silence, wretch!" He growled yet again, making me flinch in astonishment.

By now, my heart was beating like crazy.

"Mum had… She was…" Ben suddenly let go of my hands. He grabbed his head, closing his eyes. He then let out another groan of pain.

I knew he was aggressive towards me. I knew he was brainwashed, and that meant he wanted to hurt me. But I _couldn't stand _seeing him in pain… That's why I decided drop my guard.

"Ben, are you alright?" I asked worriedly and put a hand on his right shoulder. He let out another groan…

The next thing I knew was that he pushed me against the wall harshly. I let out a cry of pain since I hit my back from the impact. "Stay away from me and Master Sartorius, you wretch." Ben growled at me, still having me pinned against the wall.

But then, he let go of me. He started marching towards the end of the port. I was looking at his form in confusion. Then I started walking after him, wanting to see where he was going.

What had just happened was so confusing… Why was he in so much pain? And why did he mention Aunt Maria?

By the time I was at a place across the warehouse, I could see Ben joining Alexis and Chazz from behind Sartorius. A man with purple hair (who I guessed was the prince) was offering him that case I had seen earlier. The four men then gave the prince those four boxes, which he gave to Sartorius as well.

Ben's behavior was weird enough already. This sight made everything even weirder… What was that thing, and why was the prince just giving it to Sartorius as if it was no big deal?! The woman must have had her hand chained to that case for a reason…

Seeing the smug smile on Sartorius' face just made me sure something was bad about the whole thing…

Out of a corner of my eye, I could see the guys at the side. I decided to ask them whether they knew what that thing was. They must have, since they've been here longer than I was.

"What's that thing the prince gave to Sartorius?" I asked quietly, just as I walked up to them. "Those are the controls to the Misgarth's newest satellite." Bastion spoke up with a frown. "But why is he just giving them to Sartorius like that?" I asked dumbfounded.

"The prince and him had a bet before the duel." Syrus spoke up. "Sartorius bet on giving Destiny Heroes to the prince if he lost, while the prince accepted the deal of giving him controls to the satellite if Sartorius won." Hassleberry folded his arms. "Wait, the duel's over already?" My eyes widened in surprise. It's been barely five minutes since I was left alone…

Jaden nodded. "Sartorius won, and without having any turn." He sounded impressed. "That's unfortunately a bad thing…" Bastion let out a sigh.

Out of a corner of my eye, I could see the prince, and his people going back towards the plane. Sartorius, Alexis, Chazz and Ben, on the other hand, started walking away from the harbor.

"Why? What does that satellite do?" I asked the British guy with a frown. His grey eyes looked straight into my light blue ones. "It's capable of destroying all life on Earth."

'_It's capable of destroying all life on Earth.' _Those words were echoing in my head. I stopped breathing for a few moments. I couldn't even think properly during that time… My heart was racing like crazy, and this uncontrollable panic washed over me. By now, I was even shaking a bit.

"Wait," I looked up with a forced, nervous smile (which made all of the guys look at me in surprise). "What you're telling me is that the prince _gambled_ controls to his life-destroying satellite in a duel? So now Sartorius can do whatever the hell he wants with it while under the control of that force?" I could have sworn I started shaking even more. I mean, I could feel it, but really, that was the only thing I could process at that moment…

Bastion sighed. "Well, yes, more or less."

By now, that fact sank in completely. But you know what? It _wasn't _helping. My shaking didn't stop.

Why was this so surprising all of a sudden? I've come across a brainwashed sect (my _cousin_ also being a part of it)_,_ Sartorius being under the control of some insane-sounding force, ordering Sarina to kill me, and her confirming the whole story… So, again, why was Sartorius acquiring a destroying satellite _so_ surprising?

No idea. That also didn't explain why my head was spinning all of a sudden…

"That's… That's just great." I spoke up, lifting up my right index finger with that forced smile still on my face.

The next thing I knew was that everything started turning black. I started falling. The last thing I felt was someone's arms catching me before I completely lost my consciousness…

**Well, yeah, that happened… But, honestly, can you really blame Serena for such reaction lmao… **

**I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter, you'll see why once I post it… ;)**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	28. Panic And Foolishness

**Kim Nanoha: Thanks! Hahaha, hopefully, this chapter will leave an impression too… ;)**

**Kias: Hahaha, true, she **_**should **_**catch a break… But one should keep in mind that the 'satellite' thing was only a cherry on top of everything happening so far. Everything finally crashed in on her, seeing the only dangerous thing Serena had experienced before her second year was Viper's anger (and detentions) … Plus, knowing she's a target just made her even more nervous, and was building up to this… Now, what happens when she's in complete panic is explored in this chapter… ;)**

**Well, guys… The idea for this chapter has been in my head for quite a while now, and I decided to add it in the story… Hope you'll like it! :)**

**I only own my OC's!**

"_What were you thinking?!" A male voice demanded angrily. "I... I didn't mean to run across the street! I dropped my ball, and I just wanted to get it…" A girl's voice replied, trembling. "That's exactly how people get killed." The male voice responded, not hesitating to show anger. "Yes, but…" "Then __**why **__did you do that?! What was I supposed to say to your aunt if something happened to you?!"_

"_I'm… I'm… I'm sorry! Please, just stop!" The girl finally started sobbing in fear. "You're so mean!" She then shouted. "What?" The male voice demanded in surprise. "Since you came, all you do is just scold me, or not play with me! I wish Auntie or Sarina were here instead!" By now, she was sobbing even more loudly._

_If it weren't for the girl's loud sobs, it would have been deadly quiet on the street._

"_Do I really look like that?" The voice asked slowly. "You do!" The girl's one exclaimed. No one said anything for a few moments._

"_Forgive me for coming across in such way." The voice finally spoke up. "You really mean it?" She asked surprised. By now, she stopped sobbing. "I do." He then let out a sigh. "Let's just get you back home." _

The first thing I felt was something wet, and _cold _on my face… Then, I felt my head hurting. Immediately after that, I could hear voices.

"You really think that's going to work?" The first one asked. "Well, it's surely better than your idea, Sarge." The second voice pointed out. "I don't see what was so bad about it." "You can't just slap her, Jaden…" The third one sighed. "But Alexis slapped you?"

All of the voices then stopped talking for a few moments.

"She was angry… And guys can't do that to girls!" The third one then said in a bit of annoyance. "He has a point, Sarge." "Then why not go for an easier route?" The first one suggested.

Suddenly, I could feel someone shaking me by my shoulders rather vigorously. It just made me feel even more disoriented… "Jaden, stop it!" Suddenly, shaking stopped. "Chazz was right, you don't have any delicacy…" The third voice sighed again. "What's the deal?" The first one was confused. "Slapping a girl is not what we're supposed to do!" "But only to wake her up…" "_No_ delicacy." The voice repeated with a sigh.

After a few more moments, the feeling of disorientation started slowly disappearing. By now, I could recognize the voices around me.

I opened my eyes and looked up. Jaden, Bastion, Syrus and Hassleberry were gathered around me and talking between themselves. "What in the world happened?" I spoke up hoarsely, putting a hand on my forehead.

"You're awake." Jaden breathed in relief. "Told you cold water would work." Bastion shot him an annoyed look. An empty glass was in his hands. "But I did start shaking her…" He reminded sheepishly. "A rather tactful approach…" the British guy replied sarcastically.

"You fell unconscious." Hassleberry explained. "You were lucky he had good reflexes and caught you." Bastion frowned. "I _do_ have Dino DNA…" The guy reminded him with a smirk. "Moving on… We brought you here and finally managed to wake you up." The British guy finished his explanation.

Looking around, I noticed we were in the renovated part of the Slifer Red dorm. I was lying on one of sofas (with a blanket covering me), while the guys were standing near it.

"What happened before that?" I asked in confusion. "You could tell us that, actually." Hassleberry spoke up. "As soon as we told you what the satellite could do, you started acting quite weird… And then you just started falling!" Jaden rubbed the back of his head.

My eyes widened once I heard those words coming out of his mouth. Memories of that event immediately started rushing back to my mind.

"_Wait… What you're telling me is that the prince gambled controls to his life-destroying satellite in a duel? So now Sartorius can do whatever the hell he wants with it while under the control of that force?" I asked with a nervous smile. I started shaking even more._

"_Well, yes, more or less." Bastion let out a sigh. After a few moments, everything started turning black…_

"You mean, the destroying satellite Sartorius acquired?" I spoke up, the feelings of nervousness washing over me. "Yeah, the one Prince Ojin gave him." Hassleberry nodded. A frown appeared on my face.

_Onestamente_… HOW MUCH of an idiot could you be to walk around, offering and gambling life-destroying satellites?! Playing on bets was something usual here (from what I noticed so far), my duel with Bonaparte had been a bet too… But WHY bet on something like this?! Was that prince stupid?! He must have been…

"The Prince has no neurons." I let out a groan, tugging at my hair. "What did you say?" Syrus raised an eyebrow. "He has no brain," I elaborated with a frown, tugging at my right hair strand even more harshly (in an apparently failed attempt to calm down my nervousness). "Because a smart person wouldn't offer random people a freaking satellite!" By now, I started pulling my left hair strand even more harshly.

Jaden must have seen what I was doing, since he sat down next to me and grabbed both of my hands. In doing so, he prevented me from most probably pulling out my own hair. "Stop that. You'll be bald by the end of day." He pointed out with a frown.

"Well, how do you expect that, after how that stupid man had just offered…" "Actually," I was cut off. "Sartorius suggested to Prince Ojin to give him the satellite if he won. The Prince just agreed, since he wanted those Destiny Heroes." Bastion spoke up matter-of factly.

Now that I thought of that, the information didn't make much of a difference… He still agreed to the bet! He didn't have to do that!

"Just proves how Prince Ojan has no neurons." "Prince _Ojin_." Hassleberry corrected. "The point still stands." I was about to try to tug at my hair again. Unfortunately, that didn't work since Jaden refused to let go of my hands. "Please, Jaden, just let go." I frowned at him. "You'll be thanking me for this later." He responded casually.

I kept looking at him with a frown for a few more moments… Then I let out a sigh and looked away.

"So… What now?" I asked, looking up at the other three guys. "What do you mean?" Syrus spoke up. "What are we going to do, considering Sartorius has a satellite which could kill us all?" I reminded. Frankly, I was a bit surprised they were taking this so calmly…

Which part of 'Sartorius has a destroying satellite' didn't they understand?!

"There's nothing we can do." Hassleberry folded his arms. "It can't be true." I narrowed my eyes. "But it _is_," Bastion let out a sigh. His grey eyes then looked directly into my light blue ones. "That satellite officially belongs to Sartorius now. He and the Prince had that deal, and he won." "But can't we at least try to get it somehow?" I suggested in a bit of panic.

By now, all four of the guys were looking at me as if I were a patient from mental asylum.

"Are you crazy?" Syrus demanded with a frown. "You actually thought of_ stealing _the creep's satellite?!" Hassleberry was gaping at me. "Serena, I think you're still a bit disoriented." Bastion's voice made me look up. He was staring at me as if I were crazy. "Maybe she'd better get some rest." Hassleberry suggested. "I agree." The British guy nodded.

Si… They thought I was a lunatic for suggesting something like this.

"I think they're right. You should rest, not to pull out your hair, at least." Jaden let out a laugh. I simply nodded, not really knowing what to tell them. He then let go of my hands and stood up. "I think more professional duelists are coming." Syrus suddenly grabbed him by his arm. Jaden simply nodded to him before looking at me again. "I'll come to see how you're feeling later." He smiled.

Syrus then pulled him out of the room, with Hassleberry close behind. Bastion turned around to look at me yet again. "Better get that rest." He repeated. I looked away with a sigh and my arms folded. A moment later, I could hear the door closing. That meant all of them were out.

So it was down to this. I was the target of the force-controlled Sartorius, who _also _had a satellite… A satellite which could destroy _life_! My own one was on the line, one way, or another…

As soon as that thought sank in, uncontrollable panic washed over me yet again. At that moment, only one thing was on my mind. I _had to_ get my hands on that satellite! I wanted to live! That was the only thing that mattered!

I jumped off the sofa and raced towards the exit.

* * *

I ran down the path towards the White Dorm. Finally, I stopped right in front of the building.

It looked as white as the last time I had been here… And it looked like no one was guarding the entrance. I only had to be stealthy, so no one from the Society would notice me… The only problem was, I had no idea where the controls to the satellite were supposed to be. My guess was Sartorius brought them directly to his room, but that was only a wild guess… The only option I had, actually. I had to figure out where his room was…

I raced towards the door. My trembling hand reached out and opened them… A bit too quickly for my liking.

I quickly ran inside. I then closed the door. My feet raced as fast as they could towards one pillar. I hid behind it with my heart racing like crazy. If luck served me well, then that meant I hadn't been spotted…

"Won any medals yet?" "Only five for today. Some pathetic Slifer Red was crying his eyes out, until he saw the Light." I could hear voices near where I was. Turning around, I got on my knees curiously.

Two Society Of Light members were walking towards the exit. One of them was a guy with teal hair and glasses. The other one was another guy, who seemed to be slightly taller than the first one. He had spiky, dark brown hair.

"Have you heard about the rumors?" The second guy then asked. "What rumors?" The first one raised an eyebrow at him. "They say Master Sartorius won something from Prince Ojin. No one knows what, though…" The second one frowned. "Maybe that's why he was less interested in hearing what we had to say about the tournament." The blue-haired guy mused, with a finger on his chin.

"Seems possible… No one knows, except his most loyal followers." The spiky-haired one sighed. "What I'd do to get that powerful card…" "What?" The first guy gave him a confused look. "Most loyal followers received a card from Master. I think it's some sort of a veil, based on what I heard Chazz and Benjamin talking about." He explained. "They have it?" The blue-haired one's eyes widened in surprise, receiving a nod.

The two of them walked outside, closing the door behind them in process. I was staring at the exit in both confusion and curiosity.

I wasn't exactly sure what that 'veil card' talk was all about… Nor did I have time to think about it! I had to go and find that room before anyone discovered me!

After making sure no one else was going to come through the hallway, I raced upstairs.

* * *

I was walking through the hallway on the floor, and praying no one would see me here. I knew I had to find that room, yet I was also terrified of trying to walk in… What if someone was inside? Then they'd see me, and I'd be done for! I was lucky the dorm was empty today! But walking around wouldn't help me either… I had to try to knock somewhere.

I stopped in front of one door, lifting up my trembling hand. I knocked on the door. "Who is it?!" A girl's voice could be heard from the inside. "Hello?" I spoke up nervously. "Lorenzo, is that you?" The voice demanded in annoyance.

Honestly, that statement caught me by surprise. I didn't even know who that Lorenzo was… But the name sounded Italian, which was why I decided to go with it.

"Si." I nodded. "Why is your voice higher?" "Sorry," I started coughing, trying to make my voice sound deeper. "I inhaled some helium." "What do you want?" The voice demanded. "Sar…" I quickly stopped, realizing I nearly made a crucial mistake. If I didn't refer to him as 'Master Sartorius', then she'd figure out I wasn't from the cult… The last thing I needed right now!

"_Master _Sartorius wanted to see me," I tried to sound deeper than usual. "But I forgot where his room is." "Just great…" The girl from the inside groaned in annoyance. "Look, his room is the one in the middle of the first floor, the door on the left." "_Grazie_." I nodded. "Whatever, just go!"

I started running towards the stairs, since I was on the second floor at the moment.

* * *

I ran down the stairs, right to the first floor. Walking through the hallway, I looked at doors on the left side. There were seven of them… That meant the fourth one was the door to the room.

Hopefully, no one would be inside… I had to make sure that wasn't the case.

That's why I knocked on the door. There seemed to be no response. Frowning, I decided to knock once again. However, nothing happened. I knocked for the third time, only to receive no response like before.

That meant no one was inside… Thank goodness!

I opened the door and walked inside the room.

To my surprise, it wasn't just one; but like a small apartment! And thankfully, it seemed to be empty… There was no one in the bedroom, nor bathroom… The front room seemed to be empty as well. The curtain in front of the room (the one right in front of me) was pulled to the side.

I walked to the front room. A huge, round, and glass table was in the center. A chair was by it. The room itself was huge.

Looking around, I couldn't help noticing the similarities between this room, and the one where Sartorius used to have customers back then. Both of them had a table, at least one chair, and some kind of curtain door… It was a similar, and quite familiar atmosphere…

Finally, my eyes landed on the table. Something was on it. Walking closer, I realized it was the case from before, except that it was wide open. But it was definitely the case the Prince had offered to Sartorius earlier. I could see it, because chains were still tied to it.

The thing itself looked rather complex… I could even see four holes around its edges.

My eyes then darted over to four boxes by the case. All of the objects were open, while the two were empty. The remaining two had some weird, grey things inside them.

Just as I was about to walk closer, I accidentally stepped on something. I jumped back with a yelp and quickly looked down. The remaining two, grey things were lying on the floor. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I took both of them in my hands.

I had no idea what those things were… But they must have been a big deal. Those four men didn't carry them in their hands for nothing… Why were they lying on the floor like this? Sartorius was obviously intending to do something with this thing, so where was he? Not that I wanted him to come while I was here (the _last _thing I wanted), but still, this was quite weird… Why open the thing, leave the other ones lying around, and then just go out?

Taking a deep breath, I reached for one of those empty boxes on the table. I took it, and put one of the things inside. I then did the same with the other one. After closing all boxes and the case, I opened the backpack I had brought with me. I put one of the boxes inside. I was about to put another one of them inside…

When the door opened.

I looked up with a gasp. A pang of shock washed over me. I could have sworn I stopped breathing for a few seconds.

Sartorius was standing at the room's entrance. He had a hand on his face, and was looking right at me.

I was staring back. I felt completely frozen, and didn't know what to do.

He kept looking at me for a few seconds… Then he lunged at me.

I let out a scream and jumped back. "HOW DARE YOU?!" He screeched.

The worst thing was, that screech sounded almost inhuman… It definitely didn't sound like something a human could do.

His face then contorted into the _identical_ one from my nightmare. I let out a scream and backed behind the table. He lunged at me from my right. I jumped over to the left side, barely avoiding getting caught. I then quickly stood up, behind the other side of the table.

He tried to lunge at me again, and I jumped away. I then quickly grabbed the boxes and the case in my hands. However, the man pulled out something from a drawer… He pulled out a _knife_.

"FOOLISH HUMAN!" The inhuman voice screeched, just as he started running after me. I was running too, but it was more to just try to get out of his reach, rather than get out of there… Which was why he lunged at me from the other side.

The man pushed me harshly. I fell on the ground with a yelp, dropping the case and boxes in process. They fell a few meters away from me. Metal banging against the floor could be heard.

He grabbed me by my arm harshly. Those insane-looking eyes were looking straight into mine… "You'll pay for this… No one can help you now!" He lunged the knife in my direction. I tried to push him away. However, the grip on my arm was too strong… It was like he wanted to break it. It hurt that much… I let out a scream and looked away.

Then, I heard a shout of pain. I looked up, my eyes wide.

Sartorius let go of my arm. Instead, he was holding his own hand. The left hand had a knife in it… And it was _bleeding_.

"GET OUT!" He shouted at me. While his face wasn't as contorted as it had been before, it was still filled with anger.

I quickly got on my feet, only to be grabbed harshly once again. "You'll pay for this…" The inhuman voice threatened. I looked up at him, feeling nothing but panic and fear. Then I did it. I stomped on both of his feet harshly. It made him let go of me, since my stomping always hurt… I then raced towards the bedroom.

Slamming the door shut, I looked around the room. I then quickly locked the door and put a nearby floorboard against the door. Breathing heavily, I looked around once again. I could feel even more panic.

How… _How _was I going to get out of here?! I couldn't have gone through the room door, since Sartorius would have caught me again…

Loud and _violent _door banging made me look up in panic. He was trying to break down the door… If he did it, then I'd really be done for!

I looked around the room, the feeling of panic increasing. There was _no _proper exit out of here…

Except for the window. I raced towards it and opened it. I then looked outside. A huge, tree branch was near the window…

Climbing up and down the trees from windows was not a problem for me. I did it loads of times, whenever my parents locked the door of the house. What worried me was the distance between this window and that branch… I would have to jump to grab it.

Hearing Sartorius trying to break down the door made me realize I really had no choice here. It was either the window, or him…

I climbed through the window. That was when I heard loud slamming. Turning around, I could see Sartorius walking inside the room. The broken door was lying on the floor.

It all happened so quickly. He lunged at me. I turned around. I jumped, and grabbed that tree branch. It seemed everything was going well…

Until I heard a cracking sound. The next thing I knew was that I was falling. Once my body hit the ground, I could feel piercing pain from where my left ribs were… I let out a scream. The pain was awful, and I just wanted it to stop…

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the sky while taking deep breaths. I hoped it would help me get rid of pain… But it didn't. It hurt so much…

Suddenly, I felt someone grabbing me by my arm. "Don't touch me!" I tried to slap it back to no avail. My left side was obviously injured…

"It's fine, it's just me!" The familiar voice exclaimed, pulling me up. The next thing I knew was that he started leading us away from the building as fast as he could…

**Well… Yeah… That happened.**

**Normally, Serena wouldn't do foolish things like this one. But, once panic overwhelms her (everything building up so far, with the satellite being a cherry on top), she literally loses her mind… And it results in situations like this. She was acting like an idiot here, and it was fully intentional. **

**Personally, I think a chapter like this was needed, to teach her a lesson that panic never helps. Now, how the others react is something I'm looking forward to writing… Whatever they're about to say, she totally deserved it lmao. **

**Words in Italian:**

**Onestamente-Honestly.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	29. Emptiness

**Kim Nanoha: Thanks! Well, glad about that, since the last chapter was done fast-paced intentionally. It was supposed to be a tense scene… ;)**

**Well, here's the next chapter!**

**I only own my OC's!**

Pain. That was the only thing I felt while someone was leading me away. My back hurt, and I could feel my left arm stinging like crazy… However, that wasn't even the worst. Piercing pain was coming from where my left ribs were supposed to be…

"Wait!" I finally cried, making the person stop. "I need to take a break; it hurts so much…" I groaned, clutching my left side with both of my hands. "At least wait until we're far enough from the White Dorm." The voice urged, making me finally look up to see who it was.

Atticus was frowning at me. "Please, just a few seconds." I pleaded, taking a deep breath. He nodded. Unfortunately, it didn't help. Breathing just made my left side hurt even more… "_Cazzo_!" I cursed with a shout.

I got myself into a lot of nasty things when I was younger. I had to get my wounds treated for that. I got bruises on my knees, arms, some were even bleeding… Hell, I got my ankle twisted, even sprained… But, _none_ of that could match the piercing pain I was feeling right now.

"What happened to you?" Atticus asked alarmed, bringing his arms up as if he wanted to support me. "Please, don't," I looked up at him. "Then it will hurt even more." "Can I at least grab your right arm?" "Fine." I nodded, before he did so. "To the Slifer dorm?" "Yes." I nodded back.

**Third Person's POV**

What started off as a good day to Sartorius, now seemed to be getting worse and worse.

The first bad sign was the foolish girl eavesdropping on his conversation with Sheppard. Except that it didn't seem like one back then. Sure, her eavesdropping infuriated him. Then, once he confronted her about it, she had the audacity to just shove him and run out.

However, Sartorius decided to pay no heed to it and just focus on things at hand. At the end, it was successful, since he acquired a satellite from Prince Ojin by winning their duel.

The moment he was in his room, the man intended to activate the satellite. It was supposed to be done quickly, and efficiently. All he had to do was put four keys where it was needed to… Unfortunately, more bad things happened.

Just then, his 'problem' had to prevent him from doing so. He wasn't even able to put the first two keys inside. He just dropped them! That 'problem' made him leave his room for a few minutes. And, that turned out to be a _huge _mistake. He should have never left the room.

Because, just when he thought he solved his 'problem', another one appeared. To make it even worse, it appeared right in his room, in form of a freckled, red-haired girl.

And that red-haired girl dared to try to steal his satellite! He walked in and saw her trying to put keys in her backpack. The girl was either quite brave, or quite stupid to do such thing. Whatever it was, it infuriated him.

Sartorius tried to catch the girl, who kept avoiding him. But then, he finally pushed her to the floor. He was so close to finally killing her with that knife… And he would have done it, if that stupid 'problem' hadn't prevented him from doing so! Now, his own left hand was bleeding instead.

The girl stomped on his feet and locked herself in his bedroom. The man wasted no time in trying to break down the door. He had no intention of letting her get away.

As soon as he broke down the door, Sartorius was ready to catch the girl. Unfortunately, that turned out to be unsuccessful. The moment he lunged at her; she was already out of the room.

He didn't expect for her to actually _jump _through the window… From memories he had, the girl wascapable of a lot of things. If they served him correctly, she even ended up breaking one window. But he never thought she'd go _that far_ to jump through it!

That ended rather badly for the girl. The branch she was holding for broke. She fell on her left side, and let out a high-pitched scream… The redhead was just lying on the ground for a few moments… The fall must have hurt.

Looking at her through the window, Sartorius saw that as a chance to bolt downstairs and catch her. Why should he let the stupid girl get away? She had the audacity to walk into his room and try to steal his satellite!

The man was about to bolt out of the room… Only to suddenly stop. Slamming his left hand against the wall, he grabbed his face with his right one.

"What am I doing?" He asked aloud. But then, he took the hand off his face with a glare. He looked up at a mirror across him. "What you have to! The foolish girl nearly stole the satellite!" He growled at his reflection, taking the knife out of his bleeding, left hand harshly. He then threw it to the floor.

Just when he thought he was done with his… 'Problem'…

It's been more than a year since he took over. It should have been over by now. But it wasn't. Even now, Sartorius was having trouble keeping control of his body. Why? Because his weaker, foolish self, refused to cooperate. His other self didn't want to listen to the Light's orders. It's because of him that he failed to kill the foolish girl for the _third_ time now!

The first time, she followed him herself. The perfect chance was ruined, since his other self managed to take control long enough to tell her to stay away from him. The same thing happened the second time, when she lost their duel.

To make it even worse, she resisted the power of the Light. She should have seen the Light the moment she lost that duel! Not even hypnosis worked… It only made him even more sure his suspicions were true. Not only were Jaden and Aster an obstacle, but she was too… For different reasons, but an obstacle, nonetheless.

Since his foolish self refused to agree with killing the girl, Sartorius ordered Sarina to do that. It was a perfect way to spite both her, and his other self. But then, Sarina disobeyed him as well…

Sartorius _did _threaten her. He made it perfectly clear what would happen if she didn't do so. But, firstly, he didn't know where she was. Secondly, he had more important things to do than dealing with her failure.

He was so close to finally getting rid of the foolish girl a few minutes ago. He even plunged the knife… Unfortunately, his other self had to interfere for the second time today. He thought stabbing his hand would somehow help the girl…

If he hadn't stopped him from activating the satellite, then Sartorius wouldn't be in this situation right now!

"But, if I go after Serena, then she'll… She'll…" The man slammed both of his trembling hands against the wall. "She'll get what she deserves!" He opened his eyes angrily, finally managing to get back control of the body.

With a scowl, Sartorius quickly walked over to the window. Unfortunately, it was too late to do anything. The girl was out of his sight by now. He wasn't sure how, since it looked like she was hurt badly…

The man walked back to the front room. The controls to the satellite were still lying on the floor, along with boxes containing the keys. He picked up the controls, observing them for a few moments. Its lower edges were slightly damaged… He could clearly see some scratches along the case. The girl dropped them the moment he pushed her. That explained the scratches, and one partly disfigured edge. Luckily, it was nothing serious… The fall could have caused more damage.

His purple eyes then landed on four boxes. Putting the controls back on the table, Sartorius took two boxes and put them there as well. But that was when he noticed. One box was lying wide open, and it was _empty_.

Taking it in his hands, Sartorius glared at his bedroom window (the broken-down door was still lying on the floor).

The girl's backpack was wide open the moment he pushed her to the floor. The box must have fallen out of it and opened from the fall's force... Still, that didn't explain where the fourth key was! Despite that, he had an idea what happened to it.

And the thought of that made him even angrier.

**Serena's POV**

As soon as we were there, Atticus helped me sit down in the renovated part of the dorm. He then helped me remove the backpack off my back.

I was just glad we were far away from the White Dorm… But, unfortunately, not even that could help me when it came to pain… My left side still hurt like crazy.

"What happened to you back there?" Atticus finally questioned in surprise. "I…" I opened my mouth, thinking about how to respond to his question. It was a bit hard to, since my left side was a problem… Except that I didn't get a chance to say anything else, because the door opened.

"Serena!" Jaden's voice quickly made me look up. He ran down to where Atticus and I were. His chocolate brown eyes widened as they looked from me to the guy. "I saw you helping her walk… What happened?"

Atticus opened his mouth to tell him something, only to be cut off by another voice. "Jay, wait up!" Syrus and Hassleberry ran inside. They were followed by Bastion and Aster, who walked in.

"Aster?" Jaden looked up at him in surprise. "I saw him helping her from the direction of the Obelisk dorm," Aster's piercing, dark blue eyes landed on Atticus, and then me. "What I don't understand is what business they had there." The professional duelist finished with a frown.

The moment he said those words, all eyes turned towards Atticus and me. "What were you two doing at the White Dorm?" Bastion demanded in astonishment. "I was looking around for duelists, and hoping I'd see my sister there by chance," Atticus spoke up with a sigh. "Then I heard a scream. I ran towards the source of it, and found her lying on grass. I then led her away as fast as I could." He finished with his arms folded.

All eyes turned back to me. "Why were you there?" Hassleberry demanded. "And why were you screaming? Did something happen?" Jaden quickly started asking, sitting down on my left… Only for me to scream in pain once he tried to put an arm around my shoulder. In the attempt to do so, he leaned on my injured part…

As soon as I screamed, all of them stared at me wide-eyed. Some of them even covered their ears (Syrus, Hassleberry and Bastion, for example, and Jaden too, since he happened to be right next to the source of screaming). "Please, don't, it still hurts!" I pleaded. "What are you…" Jaden started, only to suddenly be cut off.

"What happened to your arm?!" Atticus pointed at it. I could have sworn all of their eyes were wider by now. Finally, I looked down at my left arm (which was still stinging like hell). My eyes widened as well. I knew it hurt. But, seeing the damage on the outside was something else…

Red, swollen bruises were scattered over most of my forearm. It was in a form of a handprint… _Two_, in fact.

"Would you mind explaining to us what exactly happened to you?" Aster finally demanded with a frown. I let out a sigh with a hand on my forehead. I had to tell them. I knew that. How else would I explain my injuries? Besides, Atticus had seen me at the White Dorm… It was just harder to breathe, with my left side hurting so much…

I looked up at all of them while taking a deep breath (and unsuccessfully trying not to groan at pain in my chest). "I guess you all remember what Sartorius won a while ago…" I trailed off, clutching my left side with my left hand.

"What is she talking about?" Atticus immediately asked, him and Aster looking at others. "Sartorius had a bet with Prince Ojin from Misgarth. By winning their duel, he got a satellite which can destroy all life on Earth." Bastion briefly explained with a frown. That got him wide-eyed looks from both Aster and Atticus.

I nodded. "Well, I sneaked into the White Dorm to try to steal it…" "You did WHAT?!" Syrus' shouting cut me off. I flinched in surprise, looking up. All of them were staring at me as if I had just come out of mental asylum. I looked to my left to see Jaden staring at me as well. A brief pang washed over me. It hurt to see my best friend looking at me as if I were crazy…

"I managed to figure out where Sartorius' room was, so I entered it…" "Are you crazy…" "Let her finish." Bastion frowned at Hassleberry. "I managed to find that case the prince had given to him," I quickly continued. "Along with it were four boxes you had seen as well. While I was trying to put them in my backpack, Sartorius suddenly came into the room…" I trailed off with a sigh.

By now, all of their eyes were so wide they could pop out of their sockets. That must have been my reaction as well when Sartorius walked into that room and saw me…

"Wait," Atticus spoke up. "What you're trying to tell us is that those bruises…" "Let her finish!" Bastion reminded sharply. "What happened then?" Hassleberry questioned wide-eyed. "He went crazy…" I trailed off, shivers running down my spine.

"_HOW DARE YOU?!" Sartorius let out an inhuman screech, his face contorting to the identical one from my nightmare._

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to forget about that moment. Yet I couldn't… It was worse than that nightmare I had. Actually, it was worse than _any _nightmare… Because this one actually came to life…

"What do you mean by that?" Someone grabbed my left hand. I opened my eyes to see Jaden giving me a concerned look. My eyes briefly landed his right hand which was holding mine. Then, he gave it a light, comforting squeeze.

Him doing that immediately made me feel a bit better. It was funny how it could still work, after so many years… We did it a lot of times as kids.

"He immediately lunged at me and tried to catch me," I started, looking up once again. "I took the case and boxes and tried to flee, but he pushed me to the floor. I dropped them, and then he tried to kill me…" I trailed off, those events replaying in my mind.

_I was grabbed by my arm harshly. "You'll pay for this… No one can help you now!" Sartorius plunged the knife in my direction. I tried to push him away to no avail and then let out a scream, looking away… Only to hear a shout of pain._

_My eyes widened as I looked up. Sartorius let go of my arm. Instead, he was holding his own hand, which had a knife in it… "GET OUT!" He shouted at me._

Why… Why did that even happen? Why did he let go of my arm like that? Why did he stab his _own _hand? He had a perfect chance to kill me right there! He even shouted at me to get out… Why would he do that?! It just didn't make any sense…

I was too scared and surprised to think about it back then. But now, it was just confusing…

"I managed to stomp on his feet and lock myself in his bedroom," I continued, opting not to mention what happened with the knife and Sartorius' hand. Not until I understood it myself, at least… "And he immediately started trying to break down the door. I jumped through the window, and grabbed for a nearby tree branch… The next thing I remember is falling to the ground. That's when Atticus found me." I finished explaining.

I then looked at all of them. Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry were gaping at me. Atticus and Bastion were staring at me. Aster, however, had a cold look on his face.

"Your left side hurts?" Jaden spoke up, still surprised. I nodded. "That's where I fell, actually…" I trailed off. "So, both your arm, and left side…" "Back too." I pointed out.

"You're either crazy, or just stupid." Aster finally spoke up icily, making me look up in surprise. "What?" "Just what were you trying to accomplish with that theft attempt?!" He demanded with a glare. His dark blue eyes were looking angrily into my light blue ones…

I wasn't going to lie, his reaction surprised me… You would think he'd try to do something as well, considering this was a _life-destroying _satellite we were talking about!

"I wanted to live." I spoke up with a frown. "Because you wanted to live, you decided to go right into his room and try to get yourself killed. How fitting..." The professional duelist trailed off sarcastically, folding his arms. "I was going to be a target, one way or another!" I retorted, trying to stand up…

Only for Jaden to grab me by my arm, preventing me from doing so. "Stop moving. You're hurt." He reminded with a frown. My eyes briefly landed on him before darting back to Aster. "That still doesn't excuse your stupidity." He narrowed his eyes. "It's a life-destroying satellite Sartorius had acquired; in case you didn't understand it." I frowned at him.

"I understood it _perfectly well_," The professional duelist then gave me a cold look. "But I _also _understood Sartorius and that prince had a bet." "What does that have to do with anything?" Jaden spoke up perplexed.

Aster briefly looked at him before turning his attention back to me. "Both of them agreed to the bet, and Sartorius won the satellite through it. It's officially his property now. And you decided to try to steal it…" He trailed off, looking at me expectantly. It was as if he expected me to know what that meant.

"Oh, no…" Bastion looked at him in astonishment. "That means…" "Yes," Aster nodded with a frown. "After what your friend had just done, Sartorius can accuse her of attempted theft if he wants to." "But he has a destructive satellite, and he tried to kill me. With your logic, I can accuse him of attempted murder if he tries to accuse me." I replied with a frown.

"Honestly, Serena," Aster looked at me in what seemed to be annoyance. "Do you really think anyone's going to believe you?" "He's right," Bastion spoke up. "It's your word against his. You walked in his room and tried to steal his property. If you hadn't done that, he wouldn't have tried to kill you in the first place." "Plus, if you managed to somehow damage the satellite, he'll have proof." The professional duelist added.

Bastion's grey eyes then landed on me. "You really shouldn't have tried to steal it…" He frowned. "He's right, that's just crazy!" Hassleberry agreed, while Syrus merely nodded with a frown. Atticus nodded as well, but stayed quiet.

At that moment, the realization hit me. They were completely right… What was I thinking?! Not only did I nearly get killed, but Sartorius could now accuse me of being a thief…

"I just wanted to…" "At what cost?!" Aster turned his head to glare at me. "At cost of your injuries?! At cost of making things harder for all of us?!" He demanded angrily. "Sartorius can accuse me, not you. How's that making things harder for_ all_ of us?" I frowned. "Who knows what he can think of doing…" He briefly looked away.

His blue eyes then looked at me sharply. "And if you keep acting foolishly, next time you might mess things up even more." "I don't want to…" "Then stay out of this." He cut me off firmly.

I was staring at him for a few moments, trying to process what he had just told me. "What?" I managed to say only that. "Sarina told Jaden and me to help save Sartorius, _not _you. The only thing she told you was to get out of here." He looked at me coldly.

Those words made my blood boil. I knew Sarina told them that. I knew what she had told me. I knew I wasn't a 'chosen duelist' like them, or whatever that was supposed to mean. I knew I messed it up by trying to steal that satellite. But I still wanted to help! I owed it to Sartorius, after doubting him like that…

"I still want to help." I looked up at him with a glare. "Then stay out of this. You've done enough damage already." He frowned back at me.

On one side, I was still angry. Aster was close with Sartorius too. I knew he had told me it was because Sartorius used to be his manager, but I had a feeling there was more to that. _The point _was, they were close. How would Aster feel if I told him to stay out of this?

On the other hand, he was right in a way. I had just done the most stupid thing in the world. No one in their right mind would try to sneak into Sartorius' room and steal his satellite! All I did was get myself into a rather nasty situation…

Suddenly, guilt washed over me. I was feeling bad. The longer it lasted, the more guilt I felt… And with that, came something else. I felt completely useless. Why did I even think I could help Aster and Jaden in some way? They were 'chosen duelists', while I was just a target for that force… I couldn't even escape from that room without injuring myself! I was a useless idiot…

Looking at the floor, I could feel tears brimming in my eyes. "Aster, chill out a bit." Jaden suddenly spoke up, making me look up at him in surprise. "Would you have done what she just had?" Aster looked at him, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, no, but…" Jaden, started, rubbing the back of his head. "Then why are you defending her?" Syrus cut him off. "Because Serena didn't mean anything bad!" He frowned. "Jaden, you can't say what she did was good." Bastion sighed. "He has a point, Sarge." "I'm not saying that. But you've seen how panicked she was…" "Still doesn't excuse her actions." Aster frowned. "Doesn't excuse you telling her to stay out of this either." Jaden replied.

Aster kept eyeing him for a few moments… Then his eyes landed on me. Finally, he left the room without another word.

"Let's get you to Mrs. Fontaine." Jaden stood up, grabbing my backpack. I shook my head. "I'll just put some ointment…" "You need to get those wounds checked, Serena. Your scream back there is enough of a proof." Atticus frowned. "Fine…" I let out a sigh (and grabbing my left side in process, since breathing hurt).

* * *

"Jaden… What brings you two here?" Mrs. Fontaine asked in surprise.

As soon as we were in the infirmary, Jaden helped me sit on the bed. It wasn't long before the woman joined us… A few minutes, at least.

"Serena got hurt, so we were wondering if you could check her wounds." He told her. "Oh, I understand." She nodded to him. Her grey eyes then darted to me. "Where did does it hurt, dear?" She asked.

"My left side hurts, and my back…" I spoke up. The woman simply nodded. But then, her eyes widened. "Where did you get those bruises on your arm?" She asked astonished. "I…" I opened my mouth, thinking about what to say.

I couldn't exactly tell her how I got them in the first place… I didn't want the others to know what happened. If the thing somehow came out, then maybe Sartorius really could try to accuse me of attempted theft, or something like that… Some random thinking, of course, since I couldn't know for sure. The point was, I didn't want the others to know about my stupidity.

"I accidentally grabbed her arm way too tightly." Jaden spoke up sheepishly. "Quite a strong grip you have there…" She looked up at him with a frown. Her eyes then landed on my arm. "I can give you some ointment for that. Now, please, take off your shirt."

My eyes widened the moment those words came out of her mouth. "Wh… What?" I spoke up in surprise. "How else do you expect me to see your wounds if you don't take off your uniform?" Mrs. Fontaine raised an eyebrow at me. "But... We're… I mean…" I stammered. I could feel my face turning red.

I knew why she wanted me to do that. But we weren't exactly alone, Jaden was with us as well… And, well, he was a _guy_! Ever since I walked in on Syrus and Hassleberry (and saw Jaden taking off his shirt in that boiler room), I've been embarrassed to see anyone like that… Much less let any guy see me! Jaden may have been my best friend, but he was a guy nonetheless!

"Do I really have to do that here?" I cleared my throat. Mrs. Fontaine eyed me for a few moments. Then she chuckled. "Jaden, could you please turn your back to us while I'm observing her wounds?" She asked him. He simply nodded and turned his back to us, looking through a window.

Mrs. Fontaine helped me take off my blazer, and then shirt. Her eyes widened once she looked at my left side.

"That's some serious swelling…" She trailed off. I looked down at my left side. She was right. It was red, and pretty nasty-looking… "Does it hurt?" The woman looked up at me. "When I touch it, and when I cough, or breathe." I nodded. "Do you have pain in chest when you take a deep breath?" I nodded.

A frown appeared on her face. "I think you broke a rib. I'll have to scan it with X-ray to make sure you hadn't injured any of inner organs." I face palmed and looked down. Broken rib… Just fantastic…

She then looked at my back. "Another nasty bruise… But I think you're fine, since you can still move." She stated.

"Jaden, could you wait outside? I'll have to scan her ribs with X-Ray." The woman asked. "Sure." He nodded and quickly walked out.

As soon as she was done with scanning my ribs with X-Ray, Mrs. Fontaine helped me sit on the bed again. She then helped me put on my shirt and blazer. "Three of your ribs are broken, but everything else is intact… It could have been way worse."

I let out a sigh of relief (feeling pain yet again). Thank goodness it wasn't that serious…

"How did you get your back hurt and ribs broken?" The woman pursed her lips. "I tripped and fell." I lied. She let out a sigh. "Jaden, you can come in now!" She then shouted over to the door.

Jaden ran in a few moments after. "What does it say?" He asked, looking between us back and forth. "She's fine, she broke only three ribs." Mrs. Fontaine smiled. Her eyes then landed on me. "That means you need to rest while they heal. No overusing your energy, and no dueling."

"Wait, what?" I gaped at her. Did she just say I couldn't duel?!

Aster was right. It would be better for me to stay out of the way. I had just caused trouble… But I still had to get better in dueling in order to defend myself… How could I do that if she forbade me from dueling?!

"You can't expect to continue participating in the tournament with that injury." The woman gave me a disapproving look. "Please, I want to keep dueling!" I looked at her pleadingly. "You said it wasn't serious." Jaden added.

She looked at us for a few moments. Then she frowned. "I'll talk to the Chancellor about this, then I'll tell you what he said." She then lifted up some ointment. "Put it on your injuries. It will help you. Jaden can help you put it on your back while I talk to the Chancellor." She gave it to me.

With those words, she was out.

Jaden sat on a chair next to me. "It's good you're not badly injured." He pointed out. I simply nodded, opening the ointment. I then put it on my arm, where those bruises were. I started rubbing it against the red, swollen bruises.

"Why are you suddenly so quiet? You should be happy it's not that bad." Jaden pointed out. "I am," I closed my eyes for a moment. "It's just that… Aster was right. I'm an utter idiot." I looked at the hand holding the ointment. "No, you're not." He responded.

I looked in his direction. "How can you say that? You've heard about what I had done… Why did you defend me in front of the others?" I gave him a look of disbelief.

"You panicked, Serena." He replied, taking the ointment out of my hand. "And even though it ended up badly, you weren't thinking clearly. You didn't mean anything bad. Aster should realize that…" He then motioned for me to turn around. "Is that really necessary?" I blurted out, feeling my cheeks turning a bit red.

He gave me an amused look. "Mrs. Fontaine told me to help you." "Fine." I turned my back in embarrassment. I then lifted up my shirt and blazer, so he could put ointment on my bruise.

After a few moments, I could feel Jaden's fingers rubbing the ointment against the place where my back hurt. "It's a huge bruise…" I could hear him trailing off. "Well, Sartorius did push me quite harshly." I tried to laugh, only to then clutch my left side in pain. "Don't laugh if it hurts." He told me. "I won't." I nodded in agreement.

"That should be it." Jaden said after about a minute. I let my blazer and shirt drop down my back. "Could you give it to me so I could put it on my ribs?" I then asked. He did so while my back was still turned to him.

I then lifted up the front part of my blazer and shirt, so I could put the ointment on my left side. After doing so, I put the thing away. I then turned around so I could see Jaden.

"At least that's done…" I trailed off. "You really jumped through the window?" He suddenly asked. "Yes," I nodded with a frown, wondering why he was mentioning that all of a sudden. "Why?" "You seem to have a thing with windows…" He let out a chuckle.

I kept looking for a few moments. Then I realized what he was talking about. First, I broke a window when I was a kid, and now, I jumped through it to escape… "It seems so." I smiled (I couldn't laugh, since it hurt). "If only it were more successful…" I looked at my hands. "It could have been worse." Jaden reminded. "I know." I nodded.

That was when Mrs. Fontaine ran inside. "I apologize, I haven't asked the Chancellor yet." She said while opening one cupboard. "Why?" Jaden wondered. "The new student came to me, asking for some bandages. I think his name is… Sartorius, yes." She quickly nodded.

Jaden and I exchanged looks of surprise. "Where is he?" I asked in a bit of panic. "At the building entrance. He said he'd wait there for the bandages." She replied. "Why does he need them?" He asked in confusion. "I think his hand was bleeding… Some injury he accidentally got, I guess." The woman shrugged, finally grabbing the bandages. She then ran out.

I felt relieved, knowing Sartorius wouldn't come here. Yet, at the same time, that only reminded me of what happened back there…

"What is she talking about?" Jaden glanced at me surprised. "When he tried to kill me with the knife, he stabbed his own hand for some reason." I explained with a frown. "Why do that?" He rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "Your guess is as good as mine." I shrugged.

"But, please, let's change the subject." I wanted to get my mind off what had happened today. Stupid of me since I did cause trouble… But I just couldn't think about it right now. I had to get my mind off Sartorius and his stupid satellite.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Jaden smiled. "Anything else." I replied. "In that case… Ben let something slip a while ago while we were talking… Said something about how you can't take some cards seriously. Why?" He gave me a curious look.

I face palmed, knowing what Ben must have referring to back then. It's a good thing Jaden didn't understand it yet…

"He's right, I can't take some cards seriously." I smiled, taking the hand off my forehead. "Why?" "Well, let's take Polymerization for example. No idea why they named it like that, since…" "Wait," Jaden stopped me. "What do you have against Polymerization?" His eyes were wide.

I tried not to laugh (the pain). "Because that's literally…" I didn't get to finish because someone walked inside.

I looked up to see Sheppard walking over to us. His grey eyes looked between Jaden and me back and forth for a few moments. "You're Serena Accardi?" He asked. "I am." I nodded.

"Jaden," The man looked at my friend. "I think Mrs. Fontaine needs help with carrying something. Could you go and help her?" "Uh, sure." Jaden blinked at him in confusion but stood up. He then ran out. The man then turned back to look at me.

His grey eyes were looking straight into my light blue ones…

"You and Jaden are close?" Sheppard suddenly asked. I was caught by surprise. Honestly, I didn't understand why he was asking me that… "We are." I replied simply, folding my arms. "Why are you asking?" I then demanded. "Nothing, you just seem close, that's why…" He tried to wave it off.

It was still a bit weird to me… But maybe he was just curious. I didn't have any other explanation for his sudden curiosity…

"Anyway," Sheppard cleared his throat. "Mrs. Fontaine told me about your current predicament. Since you still want to participate in the tournament, we came to an agreement." He stayed quiet for a moment. "You'll be excused from dueling for three days. Then, you can continue with it."

"Thank you." I replied, feeling excitement wash over me. "_But_," The man frowned. "You can duel during the day until you feel worn out. After that, you must rest. You must also compensate for those three days, with three duels." He explained. "The moment I get back on my feet?" I asked. "No, you can have them at any time during the tournament. But they must be done." I nodded in understanding.

The man then looked at me for a few moments. "I'll leave you to rest." "Thank you." I said yet again, feeling relieved. He simply nodded before walking out.

I kept looking at the door for a few moments. Then I looked away. I grabbed the backpack off the chair on my right. While I was waiting for Jaden to return, I might as well see if there was anything in this thing of mine… Hopefully, there was something that could keep me occupied.

Opening my backpack, I started looking through it. Unfortunately, there weren't many things inside. Water, a random flower… My eyes widened once I sensed something metal in my right hand. I quickly took it out to see what it was.

A gasp escaped from my mouth (causing more pain for me because of broken ribs).

A grey, metal thing was in my hand. It was in shape of some sort of a stick, and had a metal rope tied to it.

The more I looked at it, the more surprised I was feeling. This was one of the things Sartorius had received along with the satellite…

_I put one of the boxes inside. I was about to do the same with another one…_

_When the door opened._

Before Sartorius had seen me, I managed to put one box in my backpack. Except that this was inside without the box… It must have opened from the force of my fall and fallen out. The metal thing stayed here…

I still didn't know what this was. But it was connected to the satellite in some way, I was sure of that…

**Well, the end of the chapter! I'm looking forward to writing next chapters...**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	30. The Mysterious Duelist

**Kim Nanoha: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :)**

**Brick88: Thank you for reviewing! Not sure I understood it clearly, so I'll answer the best I can. When it comes to Serena and Lorenzo, I omitted the duel Jaden had with him. But maybe I can find a way for him and Serena to run into each other accidentally or something like that… ;) Concerning Yubel and Haou… They **_**do **_**have a role in the story, so does the Light Of Destruction… ;) I like your predictions, but I don't want to spoil anything… When Viper shows up, things will definitely get crazy! Now, about the relationship between those two… I have a lot planned for them, especially once Season 3 kicks off, that's the only thing I'll say. I'm not quite sure what you meant by talking about the driver, but when it comes to Serena's cards… It's planned! ;)**

**Mike3000jr: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked the chapter and the story! :)**

**This chapter and the next one take place during 'Rah, Rah, Ra!'. **

**I only own my OC's!**

"_Wait, what happened?" A female voice spoke up in confusion. "Maria hasn't told you yet, has she?" A male one spoke up. "No, I haven't. I've just got here, just like you." A second woman pointed out the obvious. "Will someone tell me what the deal is?" The first woman asked, trying not to lose her patience. _

"_Well, you saw what was written in the news yesterday…" The man trailed off. "Yes, but you two work there! I want to hear it from the source, not some newspapers." The woman argued. "Fine, Naomi, just calm down." The second woman chuckled. "I will, as soon as you or Hiro tell me." She responded._

_The man let out a sigh. "I'm going to be quick, since I'm not sure Aster will want to stay longer than ten minutes in here…" He trailed off. "The thing is, you know what Pegasus claimed in those newspapers yesterday." "Something about that space thing…" The woman nodded._

"_Precisely. Well, historians, astronomers and scientists didn't like that claim of his. So, they sent him a letter." The second woman spoke up. "A letter?" The first one asked in curiosity. "There, they told him to stay out of areas for which he doesn't have a degree. They told him to go back to creating cards, because that's 'the only thing he's good at'." The man explained._

"_That's harsh..." The first woman trailed off. "I'm not surprised." The man frowned. "Why?" She looked at him. "You saw what was written in there yesterday. He claimed everything in history happened because of that… He doesn't even have logical proof. Just some observations from his astronomers." "Historians have right to object, since that's pretty much rejecting the history as we know it. By that logic, everything they've learned is irrelevant because of his newfound interest in astronomy." The other woman added._

_It was quiet for a few moments. "What do you think about that?" The first woman then asked. "I don't want to take sides in that scandal. My job is designing cards, and looking after my son." The man replied neutrally._

"_I honestly don't know what to believe…" The second woman trailed off. _

"Another win for me." Jaden grinned, pinning my thumb with his own one. "Fifth one already." I rolled my eyes. "I guess I'm just better at this game." The grin on his face became even wider. "Want another one?" He then looked up. "Something else, please." I replied. "So that means it's boring to you already."

"No," I shook my head. "It's just obvious you'll win every time." "Doesn't have to mean that… But fine." He shrugged.

It's been two days since my stupidity landed me in the infirmary with broken ribs and bruises. I spent whole time on bed. Mrs. Fontaine refused to let me out of her sight until the third day passed. Thankfully, my time in here wasn't boring at all.

Jaden visited me, and even kept me company for a few hours. It happened either before, or after his tournament duels. We spent that time talking, or playing simple games. Yesterday, we played Tic-tac-toe dozen times. Then, we played slaps (_slap_, since I couldn't use my left hand, which left out usage of one hand).

At one point yesterday, he even suggested bringing Pharaoh in (knowing my obsession with animals). However, Mrs. Fontaine strongly objected to that (_"Jaden, this is an infirmary, not a vet clinic where you can bring in animals! Bring that cat in, and I'll give you a detention!"_).

That wasn't the only thing she objected to though. So we could play those games better (and for the sake of a more comfortable position), both Jaden and I sat against the bed next to each other. The bed wasn't large, but it was certainly big enough for two of us.

The problem, however, according to Mrs. Fontaine's words, was lack of hygiene. She was strongly against people sitting on someone else's bed. People would then soil bedsheets with their dirty clothes (again, according to her).

While she was partially right about that, I couldn't care less. Stupid of me, since I've been taught to be tidy, while my whole family was pretty much opposite of that (with Uncle sometimes being an exception) … But, again, I didn't care. I wasn't going to stay in here for long. If it were my house, I could just change bedsheets. Besides, how could I lean my head Jaden's shoulder if he sat in a chair like usual?

Since we agreed to pretty much ignore Mrs. Fontaine's order, Jaden had to jump back into his chair every time she entered the infirmary. It was fast, and effective, from what I could see. She never suspected anything.

"Tic-tac-toe?" I suggested. "We've already played that." He reminded. "Yeah…" I remembered.

That was when Jaden took one of Tic-tac-toe papers and crumpled it, making it look like a ball. "Or maybe we can just throw ball to one another?" He suggested cheerfully. "You can count my left arm out of it." I reminded. "One-hand only." He agreed with a nod. "Tennis with paper-ball, then." I mused.

The moment I said, Jaden looked up at me. "Please, don't remind me of that thing. This is not even close to it!" He pleaded. I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What did tennis do to you?" I spoke up in amusement. "It has nothing to do with dueling," He folded his arms. "Well, obviously," I rolled my eyes. "But," "It got me in detention with a crazy guy Harrington, who then wanted a duel to see who would become Alexis'…." He stopped for a moment. "What's that word again? Yes! Something called fiancé." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Wait, wait, wait… _Fiancé_? What the hell was all that about?! Judging by his words, he didn't even know what that meant…

"Do you know what that means?" I spoke up. "Well," Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "Alexis said that meant 'friends, for now'…" He then looked at me. "Why are you asking? Does that mean something else?" He tilted his head curiously.

"No, no!" I quickly shook my head. "I was just curious." I then added.

Frankly, I was surprised he had no idea what 'fiancé' meant. However, he _was _clueless about some things when we were kids… Even now, he could be naïve when it came to some subjects. That was just Jaden… I had no intention of telling him what the word really meant. Explaining that would make me embarrassed… I mean, he would have to know eventually!

"Throw that ball!" I then shouted, wanting to change the subject. Jaden did so. I hit it with my right hand, sending it flying back. He hit it with his hand, and sent it back to me. "Try to catch this one!" I cheered, hitting the paper-ball towards him.

Jaden did hit it. It just didn't end up well. Since he didn't really look where he was going while backing away, he accidentally fell over a chair. During that fall, he did manage to send the ball towards me… Except that he ended up on the ground with a yelp and a chair beside him. My eyes widened to the side of saucers as I let out a gasp (with a bonus pain).

"Goodness, what happened in here?!" Mrs. Fontaine suddenly ran in. Her eyes looked between us back and forth, taking everything in. Finally, she frowned. "Jaden, this is an infirmary, not a tennis court." She let out a sigh. "I never said it was." Jaden let out a laugh, sitting up.

She offered him a hand, which he took immediately. He was then on his feet again. "Thanks." He smiled sheepishly. The woman shook her head in disbelief. "First she breaks her ribs," She looked in my direction. "Then Mindy burns her hand, and now you'll end up breaking something in the infirmary where people are supposed to recover. Incredible…." She let out another sigh and hurried towards one cupboard.

"Mindy burned her hand?" Jaden asked in surprise. "It was an accident." Mrs. Fontaine nodded.

At that moment, the girl with pigtails came in. Her brown eyes landed on me, and then Jaden before she walked to Mrs. Fontaine.

While the woman was tending to her hand, Jaden lifted up the chair and sat next to my bed. "Are you alright?" I asked him. "No biggie, everything's fine." He smiled back. "Then does that mean I win?" I lifted up the paper-ball with a smirk. "You didn't hit the ball back." He reminded. "Because you knocked the chair and fell down." "That still doesn't change anything." He responded mischievously.

That was when he lifted up his hand. My eyes widened once it suddenly landed on my hair. Then, he started ruffling it. "Hey, hey, hey!" I exclaimed in surprise, trying to get hair out of my face to no avail. "It's been a while since I've done this." I could hear him saying.

What I heard in his voice was both amusement and pleasure. He literally couldn't wait to get his hands on my hair again… He hasn't changed at all!

"A while? Nine-year period would like to have a word with you." I replied, still trying to get hair out of my face. That was impossible, since Jaden would just ruffle it over and over.

Finally, I decided to try to do the same to him. So, I reached out my hand, and grabbed something… "That's my chin, Serena." I could hear Jaden laughing. "_Dio santo_…" I trailed off with a head shake, before reaching out with my hand again. "Can I please have my nose back?" "Well, how do you expect me to see?!" I started laughing.

Unfortunately, that caused me to feel pain from my left ribs. I let out a groan and quickly grabbed my left side.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jaden stopped with messing up my hair immediately. Instead, he got it out of my face so he could look at me in concern. "It's nothing," I waved it off. "I shouldn't have laughed. You know that causes me pain." "She's fine, that's what happens to people with broken ribs. Once she's free to get out of here, I'll give her painkillers." Mrs. Fontaine explained while putting ointment on the girl's hand.

Jaden kept looking at her for a few moments. His eyes then turned back to me. My hand immediately landed on his hair. I started running it through it, ruffling it in process. "Hey!" He exclaimed with a laugh, trying to grab my hand. Since he saw that was impossible, he set his sights on a better target… _My _hair.

So we were sitting there and messing up each other's hair (without seeing a damn thing, due to hair covering our eyes). Jaden's laughing was contagious, but I didn't allow myself to laugh as well, since laughing meant more pain in my case…

"You two are acting as if you're from kindergarten." I could hear the girl's voice. "Who cares?!" We chorused before Jaden burst in laughter again.

"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Fontaine spoke up. "Serena needs to put ointment on her wounds." I let go of Jaden's hair. He did the same thing with mine. I quickly got it out of my face.

Mrs. Fontaine offered the ointment to Jaden who took it. He then walked over to my back, while I lifted up my jacket and shirt so he could put the ointment on the bruise. Once that was done, I took the thing and put it on both my left side and arm.

At that moment, Mrs. Fontaine ran out of the infirmary. Jaden grabbed that chance to sit on the bed next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and I could feel his head landing on mine. I closed my eyes, feeling a bit tired. The last night's sleep wasn't exactly the best after all… "Are you two dating or what?" I could hear the girl asking.

I quickly opened my eyes and looked up at her in surprise. "Are we _what_?!" I looked at her as if she were crazy. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Jaden tilting his head to left with a completely clueless look on his face. "Are you two dating?" The girl repeated the question with a frown.

Honestly… I _really_ wanted to know where she got that _insane_ idea from. 'Are you two dating'? What in the world?! Jaden was my best friend, and I didn't give a damn about things like… _Dating_…

He and I looked at each other for a few moments. While I was surprised by that statement, he looked incredibly confused… My bet was he didn't know what 'dating' was either. I was _sure _of it. "No." I then replied firmly. "Why are you even asking that?" I then demanded with a frown. "It just looked like that to me…" She shrugged. "Well, you got the wrong impression." I replied a bit harshly. "Yeah, we're not… Whatever that was supposed to mean…" Jaden agreed, or should I say, _tried to a_gree.

The girl kept eyeing us for a few moments. "Sorry." She finally said, and made her way out of the infirmary. "What's dating?" Jaden turned around to look at me in confusion.

There were many ways I could have explained that to him. But I chose not to. I chose to avoid that embarrassment (my own one, not his). Me explaining it would look really stupid (_and_, again, embarrassing for me). He didn't even know what 'fiancé' meant. I definitely wasn't a person who should explain the whole thing to him. Firstly, because I wasn't interested in it, and secondly, because he was my friend… Besides, again, he would have to learn what that meant eventually in his life!

"It's not important." I tried to shrug it off. "But you still said 'no'. Judging by your reaction, it must be something bad…" Jaden trailed off curiously. "No, no, it's not!" I quickly shook my head. "Then why won't you tell m…"

To my huge relief, Mrs. Fontaine ran into the room. She headed towards her cupboard. "Jaden, I just heard Maximilion Pegasus arrived at the Duel Academy with Chumley." She spoke up. "Really?" He stood up excitedly. The woman nodded. I looked up curiously.

Pegasus was the head of company where my Aunt worked, I knew that… But I didn't know who Chumley was. Never mind that. Maybe Pegasus had some information about Aunt Maria's whereabouts!

"Can I go too?" I asked, feeling excited. "You have to stay at least one more day." Mrs. Fontaine reminded. "But…" "I can ask about your aunt for you." Jaden offered. "Could you?" I pleaded, earning a nod from him. "_Grazie_!" I grinned and got on my feet to hug him. He hugged me back for a few moments, before Mrs. Fontaine gently pushed me back on bed.

"I'll come to see you once I see Chumley." He promised. "I'll hold you to your word." I said. He let out a laugh and then ran out of the infirmary.

**Third Person's POV**

"Then I'll equip it with 'Aether Shield'!" A female voice under the white cape shouted. The Ra Yellow student's eyes widened as the monster's Attack Points rose to 4000. "Now, Earth Stag, attack him directly!"

The student's eyes widened as a huge stag which looked as if it were made of rocks and soil charged at him. The monster hit him from the back, taking away the rest of his Life Points. The student fell to the ground, still barely being conscious from the strength of the attack.

The person under the cape scowled at the duelist before turning away. Another fool had just seen the Light… She had more important business at the moment though. She had no time to worry about foolish things.

She quickly started walking towards a huge, white building.

Sartorius was in front of it, looking at the approaching figure. "You have it?" He looked at the woman under the cape expectantly. She stopped in front of him and nodded. "They're all in here." She then offered the man an envelope. He took it in his hands, observing it.

"I take it the bandage is from that incident you had mentioned?" The woman presumed, looking at Sartorius' bandaged left hand. He nodded while still looking at the envelope. "She tried to steal the satellite." He then reminded, looking up. "You can always accuse her of attempted theft. You had mentioned there was some damage done to it." She suggested.

"If I accuse the foolish girl of that, then I'll draw attention to myself." The man shook his head firmly. "Then getting rid of her will be harder. I'll handle her, Jaden and Aster in another way." "I heard Pegasus is on the island, so it would be better to keep that out of his sight." The woman warned while pointing at the envelope. He simply nodded.

**Serena's POV**

I was sitting on the bed, and looking through my deck. Waiting here was boring without doing anything. I forgot to ask Jaden to bring me my herbarium, and it would be pointless anyway since I was here for only one more day.

I was dying to know what was happening with Pegasus. What was he doing here? Did he have any information concerning my aunt? And why wasn't Jaden back yet? Suspense was killing me right now!

Suddenly, the door opened. I looked up in surprise to see… _Aster _walking in. To make it even worse, he was heading right towards where I was.

Nervousness washed over me. The last time I saw him, he was pretty upset about what I had done, and he told me to stay out of the whole thing… _Rightfully so_, but I still didn't understand why he wanted to see me…

As soon as I got that grey stick out of my backpack, I showed it to Jaden. I told him to take it and talk to Aster about what to do with it. The next day, Jaden told me he gave it to Aster, and he didn't mention it again. Not mentioning it felt like huge burden was lifted off my chest… But I had to wonder whether that was the reason Aster was here right now…

Finally, the professional duelist walked over to my bed. His dark blue eyes looked at me for a few moments. Then, he sat in a chair next to the bed, putting his right leg over left one. "Can we talk?" He asked with a cold look, folding his arms.

"Can we what?" I gaped at him in surprise, while still feeling nervous. "I asked whether we could talk." He repeated firmly, his dark blue eyes looking right into my light blue ones.

**A cliffhanger, I know… But yeah, that's right. Serena and Aster are so having a conversation in the next chapter. In the meantime, the mysterious duelist and her deck should appear more in the future… I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	31. Discussion and Confrontation

**Daileywishaw24: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) And yes, growing up wasn't easy for Serena with such parents…**

**I only own my OC's!**

I kept looking back at Aster, not knowing what to say. The more he was looking at me directly, the more nervous I was…

That was when he pulled something out of his pocket. My eyes widened once he lifted it up. It was that grey stick…

"Mind explaining to me what exactly this is?" He asked coldly. "I thought Jaden had told you." I frowned, folding my arms. "I want to hear it from _you_." He frowned back at me. I stayed quiet for a few seconds, observing the silver-haired guy. If this was what he wanted to talk about, then it looked like he was still freaking mad about my little trip to Sartorius' room…

"There are three more like that one," I pointed at the stick in his right hand. "Four of the Prince's agents carried them in separate boxes during his duel with Sartorius. When he won the duel, the Prince gave the case with the controls to the satellite to him. He also gave him boxes with those sticks. I'm not sure what exactly it is, though…" I finished, trailing off.

Aster looked at the stick, and then at me. "And how did it end up with you?" He demanded calmly. "Before Sartorius entered the room, I had already put one of boxes inside. My guess is the box opened from force once he pushed me to the floor. The thing remained in my backpack without it." I shrugged my shoulders.

The silver-haired guy eyed me coldly for a few moments. "I really think what you had done was sheer stupidity." He put the stick back in his pocket.

As much as I was nervous, I was also angry at that moment. I knew I made a mistake. I knew trying to steal the satellite from Sartorius was idiocy. But did he have to repeat it over and over again?! Did he have to keep proving how I was useless compared to him?! I'd known that already!

"If you're here to again make your point that I'm an idiot, then I'm _not _willing to listen. Once was more than enough." I spoke up with a glare. "I'm not here because of that," Aster started, only for me to cut him off. "Then why?!" I demanded icily.

His dark blue eyes looked into mine. "I wanted to see whether you were fine." He changed his sitting position, putting his left leg over his right one. "Why would you want to know that?" I glared, still angry from his previous words. All of a sudden, he cared about my wellbeing… Why would he?! He told me I was either crazy, or stupid, and then he told me to stay out of the whole thing…

"I heard from Jaden you broke some of your ribs." The guy straightened up in his chair, folding his arms. "And, from what I know, that's rather painful…" His eyes then landed on me yet again. I stayed quiet, looking back at him.

Honestly, I really didn't know what to think about this guy anymore. He and Sartorius were close, I knew that. But then he said all those things to me a while ago… _Rightfully so_, I deserved it… But being told that really stung. I was useless compared to both him and Jaden, and trying to help Ben and Sartorius only made things worse…

"I also wanted you to tell me what exactly happened with Sartorius back there." Aster then spoke up firmly. "I've already told you." I frowned at him. "You didn't explain," He gave me a cold look. "Why his left hand is bandaged now."

The moment he said that, nervousness washed over me… How… _How _in the world did he figure out Sartorius' wounded hand had something to do with me?! I mean, he was _right_, but I never mentioned Sartorius decided to switch his target from me to the hand!

"What makes you think it had something to do with me?" I demanded with a frown. "I've seen him walking away from the main building while wrapping bandages around his hand. That happened shortly after your reckless behavior." He replied matter-of-factly with his eyes closed.

I let my arms fall to the side, still frowning. "It _is _because of that incident." I admitted reluctantly, looking at my bed sheets.

There was no point lying to him. He figured it out.

"Did you do that to him?" Aster then opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head immediately. "Then what was it?" He demanded. I bit my lip, not knowing what to say.

I wasn't exactly sure myself what happened back there. I didn't want to mention it to others until I had some sort of idea. The only reason I told Jaden that was because he was there when Mrs. Fontaine came in to get those bandages…

However, it was still so… _Confusing_.

Since Sartorius came to this island, I'd been threatened twice so far. But it was only when I barged in his room that he actually took a knife in his hand… And when he did, he wasted a freaking good chance to kill me! He couldn't have missed the target that easily! No one in their right mind would stab their own hand instead!

"_If you know what's good for you, then you'll stay away from me. Consider this a warning." Those words were whispered in my right ear. At that moment, I just didn't have courage to look him in the eyes…_

_I was grabbed by collar of my jacket violently. "Are you mocking me?" Sartorius demanded in a deadly tone. "No, I really don't get it." I whimpered, quickly looking away in fear. Suddenly, I was let go. I landed on the ground with a yelp. "I've already told you to stay away from me. Next time, I'll be even worse if you come near me." I looked up to see him giving me a threatening look._

_I let out a scream and quickly looked away. Then, I heard a shout. I looked up, my eyes wide. The hand let go of my arm. Instead, Sartorius was holding his own hand, which had a knife in it. "GET OUT!" I was shouted at immediately after._

While all that happened was still frightening to me, what left the biggest impression on me was Sartorius' shouting… Most probably because he rarely got that angry. He wasn't a person you would want to make mad. When that happened, it wasn't pleasant at all…

Both Sarina and Sartorius had incredible patience, and tolerated me causing trouble as a kid. Yet, the only time I angered the latter that much happened when I was very small… Sarina never got angry.

He was absolutely furious when I ran after my ball I had dropped. It started rolling towards street, and I nearly got hit by a car. If I remembered correctly, I even started crying out of fear due to his shouting. That picture was still a bit terrifying to me, even after all those years… It wasn't a clear one, but I could still remember how scared I was.

I couldn't remember everything about that event. I had been quite little after all. I knew it happened when I was about four. That was when Sartorius and Sarina started looking after me. I wasn't thrilled about that at all, until I got used to the latter. She and Aunt Maria would play with me.

For some reason, at first, Sartorius wasn't as nice as Sarina. He was there only to scold me if I did something wrong. It wasn't until after that incident that he started acting a lot nicer. I didn't understand it, nor remember why, or what else happened…

I only knew the shouting from few days ago reminded me of that 'ball' incident.

I did stupid things in both cases, and I was shouted at… I stopped breathing for a few moments.

The reason I was shouted at back then was because I could have been hit by a car. If I remembered correctly, Sartorius even mentioned Aunt Maria, asking what he was supposed to tell her if something happened to me, or something along those lines.

He was reasonably upset back then. But now, he had _no _reason for that. While under the control of the strange force, he was set on getting rid of me, even threatening his own sister to do that. Sarina was perfectly clear about everything.

I didn't understand why he only said threats before finally taking that knife. But, if he wanted to kill me, he was so damn near it at that moment… He even plunged the knife in my direction! There was no way he could have missed me like that. _No one_ could be that blind. A person would have to know not to accidentally injure themselves…

Much less, why would he tell me to get out if he wanted to get rid of me? It completely went against everything I've known so far! When you want something, you don't just tell it to go away… And you definitely _don't _let go of your victim's arm like that!

This wasn't the first time something odd happened with Sartorius. There had been one more case before…

"_Ever since you've gone insane." "__**Insane**__? Serena, I'm not insane." _Words from that day were echoing in my head.

While I wasn't sure what that was about, one thing was clear. It sounded more like Sartorius I was used to, rather than that crazy force… If he had known about me planning to steal the satellite, he would have told me not to dare do that.

Whenever I got in trouble, he would both scold me and help me, especially if I got hurt in some way. In fact, that 'get out' was something he _would_ say… He would warn me not to do something stupid or dangerous.

Based on everything that happened so far, seeing that Sartorius was acting more like himself at those moments…

Could that… Could that mean that…

"Will you answer my question or not?" Aster's voice broke my train of thoughts. I looked up with a yelp of surprise. He was frowning at me, with both of his arms folded. "Could you repeat it?" I asked. "I asked you what exactly happened with Sartorius back there." He repeated. It sounded as if he weren't pleased with me forgetting his question.

There was no point in not telling him. He asked me twice. Besides, maybe he would figure it out himself…

"You remember what I said about him trying to kill me back there?" I asked slowly while looking up. Aster nodded.

"Well, during our chase, he pulled a knife out of one drawer. He then pushed me to the floor, and tried to kill me with that thing." I stated, with those events replaying in my mind. I could clearly remember dropping the case and boxes, and Sartorius grabbing my arm harshly…

Aster's eyes landed on my bruised arm, before looking back at me. "What happened then?" He questioned. "I looked away just as he was about to plunge the knife," I frowned. "But instead, I heard shouting.

"When I looked up, his hand had the knife in it." "Knife in it?" Aster's eyebrows furrowed. "You mean, as in… Stabbed?" His eyes widened slightly. I quickly nodded. "He then shouted at me to get out. I locked myself in his room and jumped through that window." I finished explaining.

By now, Aster was staring at me. "You do know that sounds…" "Insane? Impossible? Yeah, I know… But it's the truth." I cut him off. "_Surprising_." He corrected me firmly, making me blink in surprise. "Oh."

We were then sitting in silence. I was looking at my bracelet, while the professional duelist was straightening his sleeves.

Aster sure wasn't wrong about that being surprising… It only reminded me of what I had thought earlier.

Could it mean Sartorius had actually tried to _help _me? It sounded kind of crazy, he was under that force's control after all… But that idea sounded crazy as well, and turned out to be true.

At that moment, my guts told me to just stop with bringing up excuses. I wasn't sure how it was possible, but I was convinced Sartorius did what he had a few days ago to help me. That also meant he took that stab to save me from my own stupidity… It made me feel guiltiness.

However, it also made me feel joy and hope. That meant he was still there. That meant there was definitely a way Jaden and Aster could save him… And with that, Ben too, and everyone else!

"He's still there, I know he is." I spoke up with a smile, making Aster look up at me. "What did you say?" He asked slowly. "There's definitely a way you and Jaden can save Sartorius." I explained, my excitement growing.

The professional duelist eyed me for a few moments. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden? The only thing that's happened so far was your failed theft attempt and injuries." He frowned. "Because I now understand what happened. By taking that stab, he saved me!"

I knew things were far from perfect. I knew we were in a lot of trouble with the Society Of Light on this island. But, I hadn't felt so happy since Sarina had told us everything… I trusted her words. However, being told something and seeing it for yourself were completely different cases. Feelings of guilt weren't as strong now. I did something stupid. But I finally saw the positive side of it!

Aster stayed quiet, observing me. There was this strange look on his face. I couldn't figure out what exactly it was…

"If you say so." He finally said neutrally. "You don't think so?" I asked perplexed. "I don't know what to think." He replied, keeping that neutral tone. "But," He shrugged his shoulders. "What do I know, since you seem to know him so well…" He trailed off, looking away, towards a nearby window.

I could have sworn there was something else in his tone when he said that. I couldn't place it…

"You do too." I pointed out with a frown. Aster's head turned in my direction. "And how would you know?" He demanded with a raised eyebrow. "Intuition." I guessed, making him stare at me. "I mean, I knew you were lying when you said the only reason you two were close was him being your manager…" I then started talking, only to be cut off.

"Why are you so interested in how we know each other?" He frowned. "You wanted to know how I knew him, and I told you." I pointed out with a shrug. "Besides, you're the only other person around here that knows him well too…" I then trailed off.

The professional duelist looked up, his dark blue eyes staring right into my light blue ones.

"I've known him since I was six." He finally spoke up in that neutral tone. "How, if I may ask?" "Doesn't really matter." The silver-haired guy replied. It was as if he wanted to say as less as possible… "How long has he been your manager?" I asked, trying to get at least something out of him. "For more than a year now." He replied coldly, looking away from me for some reason.

It gave me this feeling he either wanted to stay quiet, or had something against me… If the latter was the case, I didn't understand why. I didn't do anything to him…

"Do you happen to know anyone named Maria Accardi?" Aster suddenly looked up at me with a frown. I was caught by surprise. "I do…" I trailed off. "You're related?" He presumed. "She's my aunt." I nodded.

Frankly, I was surprised he knew my aunt's name… Did that mean he knew her as well?!

"Do you know her?" I spoke up, my eyes wide. The silver-haired guy looked at me coldly for a few moments. "I do." He said indifferently. "How?" I gaped. "She was my dad's friend and colleague." He said simply. "_Was_?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

If she was his colleague, then that meant Aster's father worked for _Industrial Illusions _too…

The professional duelist nodded. I opened my mouth, wanting to ask him what he meant by that, when…

The door opened. Our heads immediately turned to that direction.

"Serena!" Jaden ran towards my bed before stopping. "Oh, hi, Aster." He then greeted before turning back to me. "Sorry it took me so long," He rubbed the back of his head. "But Pegasus came here because one of his employees stole a copy of Ra, and then we had to find him… We did, and Pegasus has just left. He had some urgent matters to take care of." He quickly explained.

I had no idea what in the world he was talking about with that 'Ra' thing… It only reminded me of the Ra Yellow dorm.

"Did you ask about my aunt?" I asked hopefully. "I did." He nodded. "They have no clues yet; they're still looking for her and other missing employees." "Your aunt is missing?" Aster glanced at me in surprise. I nodded in his direction before looking at Jaden again. "Thanks." I let out a small smile.

I was upset they still had no clues where she was… How was it possible?! The only reason I smiled was not to show I was worried…

"You know her aunt?" Jaden looked at Aster slightly surprised. "My dad used to work with her at _Industrial Illusions_." The professional duelist gave a nod. "What's his name?" I asked curiously. He looked at me with a frown. "Hiro Phoenix." He finally said curtly.

"Wait… Your dad…" Jaden suddenly gaped. "What about him?" Aster glanced at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow. "I remember that name… He was involved in that scandal!" He exclaimed with his eyes wide.

I glanced at him in surprise, not aware of what he was referring to. "What scandal?" Aster apparently didn't understand it either. Until… His eyes narrowed.

"How do you know about that?" He demanded. "My parents were caught up in it as well. They…" Wait, wait," Aster cut him off. "What's your mother's name?" He quickly asked. "Naomi Suzuki." Jaden replied without hesitation.

The professional duelist's eyes widened. "Then that means your mother…" "Your dad…" They were pointing at each other in shock.

"What are you two talking about?!" I demanded in confusion. "Reporters accused his mum," Aster looked in Jaden's direction for a few moments. "Of cheating on her husband with my dad. It was everywhere in newspapers about ten years ago." He finished explaining with a frown. My eyes widened.

That _definitely _wasn't what I expected to hear… Hell, I didn't even know Aunt Maria knew Aster's dad!

"I never knew the details concerning the scandal. I only knew the reporters harassed her for some time about it." Jaden stated truthfully. "I kept newspapers because of dad. It happened shortly before he disappeared." Aster replied coldly.

"Your father disappeared?" I demanded in surprise. However, the silver-haired guy didn't respond to that. Instead, he was looking at Jaden. "Then that means Mum knew your dad…" The latter trailed off. "They used to be friends. I've even seen her a few times." Aster responded in a neutral tone.

"Small world this is…" I trailed off a bit more quietly.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. My head whipped around in surprise at sudden noise.

A person came inside. They walked closer to us. White cape was covering their face, so I couldn't see who it was. It was also covering the rest of their body…

"Who are you?" Jaden demanded astonished. The person remained quiet. All three of us were staring at the figure… Until it turned around, getting ready to walk out.

At that moment, Aster ran to the figure and quickly pulled the cape off their head. My eyes widened once I saw dark brown hair falling to the person's shoulders. They then turned around.

My heart started beating like crazy, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. It became even worse once her light brown eyes came into my view. They looked so different… Sinister, and yet empty… Those were nothing like warm eyes I was used to seeing…

"Aunt Maria?" I gasped before quickly grabbing my left side in pain. Jaden and Aster looked at me as if I were crazy before looking up again. They seemed to be equally shocked…

My aunt eyed us with this smug look on her face. "Serena, dear…" She trailed off sinisterly, her eyes landing on me. They then moved to two guys. "Jaden, Aster, how you've grown… Good for you." She observed nonchalantly.

"Mrs. Accardi, what happened to you?" Jaden spoke up worriedly. "Nothing you should concern yourself with. Let's just say I see things clearer thanks to the Light." She responded smugly, her light brown eyes looking at him from head to toe.

I took that moment to observe her. Apart from the cape, she looked just like before… And except for the eyes of course. They reminded me of Sartorius' eyes… Dread washed over me. Based on my previous experience, I knew what happened to her… And it felt like a stab. Another one from my family was under the control of that insane force…

First Ben, then Sartorius, and now her too?! Who was next?! Why was it that only Sarina and I managed to avoid it?!

"Did Sartorius send you here?" Aster suddenly spoke up with a frown. "No, I came to see where you were for myself…" Aunt Maria glanced at him with a sinister grin. She then looked at me. "And I came to warn my niece not to dare pull off something like that theft again, or I'll deal with her personally." She spat venomously.

I found myself cowering under her glare with my heart rate faster than ever. She never threatened me like that…

"Then you'll have to go through me first." Jaden jumped in between two of us, guarding me from her with his hands stretched out.

I looked from behind him to see Aunt Maria glaring at him. Her glare then moved to Aster, and finally me. Without another word, she walked out of the infirmary.

Jaden put his hands down with a sigh of relief. "So she's the mysterious duelist that's been on the island for the past few days…" Aster commented in realization. Jaden and I looked at him in confusion.

"I've seen her a few times, winning duels with a deck I'd never seen before." He briefly explained. "What was it like?" Jaden asked curiously. "From what I saw, it involved using elements of Water, Air, Fire, Earth and Aether." The silver-haired guy stated. "Like?" "There was a stag which looked like it was made of earth and soil. Then there was a serpent made of water, and an eagle out of air."

Jaden and I exchanged glances of surprise. "It reminds me of your deck, Serena. Apart from monsters made from earth and all that." He rubbed the back of his head. I nodded, thinking the same. It was very similar to what my deck (half of it, actually) looked like… I didn't even know Aunt Maria had that deck with her!

Aster looked between us back and forth. "Then that means your aunt is caught up in this as well." He let out a sigh. I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

It came down to this. That insane, stupid force thought it wasn't enough with controlling two people I cared about. It had to go and take my aunt as well. I clenched my fist, feeling my blood boil.

Well, I've had it _enough_. That thing was going to _pay_.

As soon as I got out of here, the first thing I planned was going to the library. I _was_ going to find out what that force was, no matter what it took. Aster and Jaden would help Sartorius. I couldn't do much there, since my stupidity caused more harm than good. I didn't want to cause something like that again. Besides, Sarina asked _them_ to help him, and Aster told me to stay out of it. But as soon as I got strong enough by dueling in the tournament, I was going after _both _Ben and my aunt.

_No one _hurt people I cared about and got away with it!

**Well, yeah… Serena's aunt finally reappears! I spent more time trying to figure out how to write the interaction between Serena and Aster, so I hope it was convincing!**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	32. The Challenge

**Daileywishaw24: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked it, and my portrayal of Crowler… :)**

**This chapter and the next one take place during 'Blinded By The Light'.**

**I only own my OC's!**

"You're not much of a help, you know." I growled at the book and slammed it shut. Only the _fifth _one I had done that to, so far…

I finally got out of the infirmary a few days ago. Finally stepping out of there was liberating. Mrs. Fontaine gave me some painkillers, and told me not to over exhaust myself. I was to take them every day to keep the pain away as much as possible. While it did _not _completely go away, walking was easier thanks to painkillers…

As soon as I was out of there, I made my way towards the library. There, I asked Mrs. Fontaine to give me every book in the library that had something about magic. I had no idea what that evil, stupid force was supposed to be… But it was far from normal to take control of people in such way. That was why I opted to go with the 'magic' theory.

At first, I was convinced I would find something in one of ten books the woman had given me. They weren't exactly light for carrying, either. Mrs. Fontaine had to ask Bastion to help me carry all the books to the room (under the condition that I return them after a week).

Even Bastion was curious why I wanted so much books all of a sudden. However, I decided not to tell him anything about my plan. He was an acquaintance… But I only trusted Jaden when it came to telling more, and _maybe _Aster a bit.

I had just finished going through the fifth book. Some made-up things were written in there. Granted, I wouldn't have taken this 'Light' thing seriously either, if all of this hadn't happened… Not just happened. It had become _personal_. Seeing Aunt Maria under that thing's control was a done deal for me.

Those five books, as mentioned earlier, had made-up things. Unfortunately, _none _of them matched the characteristic 'obsessed over Light' or 'I've seen the Light' behavior… In fact, the Light was portrayed as good! I used to think about it like that as well, until that crazy society came into my life… Now, hearing 'I've seen the Light', or something like that made me want to scowl.

I put the book away, and then reached out for the sixth one. As soon as I took it in my hands, I was ready to open it… Only to stop. I was trying to remember everything about that thing so far…

Sarina claimed everything started once a stranger came, and offered Sartorius a card. She also said she could sense its ominous aura… It's after the customer had gone out that Sartorius started acting different. The card disappeared soon after. She described the thing as 'evil force'…

According to Sartorius, no one could resist the power of Light. That's why he was so surprised when I didn't get brainwashed after losing our duel. I didn't understand it either… But that was beside the point.

When I tried to steal the satellite, the screech I heard from him sounded so inhuman… It proved the point that was… A _thing_. No human could have let out such noise.

At that moment, I remembered my nightmare from when we were at Domino City. I didn't know how much I could count on it, even though some things from it _did _happen during my failed theft attempt… There was this glowing, white light in my nightmare.

Except that didn't help much either, since I was back to square one. It was a thing, it was obsessed with Light, and it possessed people… I'd already known all that!

With a groan, I opened the sixth book. It was shorter than the previous five, and it still had no mention of anything similar to what I had encountered earlier. Frankly, I was beginning to become annoyed… I wouldn't be surprised if there was nothing in remaining three books!

As soon as I read another, stupid paragraph about Light representing good in legends, I slammed the book shut.

I couldn't believe it. I owned a lot of nature encyclopedias back home. All of them had some reasonable explanations. Whether it was how snakes moved, how photosynthesis worked, or how crystals were created… There was always an explanation! How was it that there was nothing in those books about crazy Light?!

I knew that thing wasn't exactly normal. But I _refused _to believe there was absolutely nothing about it…

"Another book that should be thrown in garbage when it comes to usefulness." I grumbled, standing up from my bed. I then put the book next to the others I had looked through.

Only two books this morning, and I was already having a headache… Not from reading, but getting pissed over same information, only told in different words. It made me regret my painkillers didn't help with headaches. However, I decided not to ask Mrs. Fontaine whether she had that. I had to take the things she had given me because of my ribs.

That didn't mean I should get used to taking drugs all the time… It wasn't good at all, and I wanted to avoid it. Either water, or some fresh air would help me with stupid headache.

From what I could see, sun was shining outside. Suddenly, I had this urge to just go out and forget about useless books for a few hours. There were only four left, and looking through them could wait until I cleared my head…

After strapping the Duel Disk to my left arm, I walked outside. Looking up, I could see Jaden standing next to what seemed to be a bin.

"Morning." I greeted, walking downstairs. Jaden quickly turned around, putting a hand on the bin. "Morning." He greeted back with a smile. "What are you doing with that bin?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Oh, nothing! I was just… Emptying the trash, that's it!" He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

"How are your ribs?" He then quickly asked. "They hurt less, thanks to the painkillers." I replied. "And now you can duel again." A smile appeared on his face.

I nodded, my hand landing on the Deck Box tied to my waist. In case someone challenged me to a duel, I had my deck…

"What are you two doing standing around here when there's a tournament going on?" A voice made me look up. Hassleberry ran to where we were. "Talking, and… Emptying the trash." Jaden smiled sheepishly. "We've got more important things to do than discard refuse… Like watch Chazz take on a pro duelist!" Hassleberry commented.

Even though it's been a few days since the tournament started, a lot of professional duelists have already arrived on the island. Students would talk between themselves about them. However, I wished to avoid duels with professionals.

I had refused to duel before this whole fiasco started. I had avoided it as much as I could. What chance could I have against _professionals_, who made a living by dueling? None. That's why I decided to stick to dueling the Academy's students only.

Thankfully, I managed to gather a few wins during those few days. About fifteen medals were inside my pocket right now. Those wins were against Slifer Red and Ra Yellow students, and for now, I wished for it to remain like that. I definitely didn't want to try my chance with the Society yet…

"You're… You're right! The trash can wait!" Jaden exclaimed, slamming the lid of the bin shut. Hassleberry nodded, and started running. "You're coming?" Jaden looked at me curiously. I nodded.

Since I still had that headache, I might as well check out what was going around the island. It would be a fine break from those useless books…

"But I can't run, since I haven't got used to my broken ribs yet." I then reminded. "Then we'll walk." Jaden grinned and grabbed my right hand. "Hassleberry, wait up!" He then shouted. We started walking at faster pace in the direction of the main building.

* * *

By the time we were in front of the building, I could see Chazz dueling an unknown duelist. Aster and Bastion were also there, observing the duel.

"Chazz really is taking on a pro…" Jaden observed as we walked closer to two guys. "And this guy's one of the best. In fact, he almost beat me once!" The silver-haired guy nodded. "How is he doing?" I asked curiously, since I didn't know the current results. "Chazz is beating this guy." Aster briefly looked in my direction before turning his attention back to the duel.

At that moment, the unknown duelist summoned a monster named Marshmallon in Defense Mode.

"Kid, your good luck streak just ended!" He declared. "Good luck, huh? Watch this!" Chazz retorted, drawing another card from his deck. "I summon White Knight Lancer!" A monster with white armor appeared on the field.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The first time I had seen that card, really… It even had 'white' in its name…. Did it have something to do with the Society, or it was simply a coincidence?

"White Knight what?" Jaden questioned in confusion. I glanced at him for a few moments. Even he didn't know about that card… My thoughts raced back to the day I sneaked into the White Dorm, and heard two students talking between themselves.

"_Have you heard about the rumors?" One of guys asked. "What rumors?" "They say Master Sartorius won something from Prince Ojin. No one knows what, though…" The guy frowned. "Maybe that's why he was less interested in hearing what we had to say about the tournament." The blue-haired guy put a finger on his chin._

"_Seems possible… No one knows, except his most loyal followers." The spiky-haired one sighed. "What I'd do to get that powerful card…" "What?" The first guy gave him a confused look. "Most loyal followers received a card from Master. I think it's some sort of a veil, based on what I heard Chazz and Benjamin talking about." The other one explained. "They have it?" The blue-haired guy asked in surprise, receiving a nod._

While I couldn't be sure, I had a hunch Sartorius had given that thing to Chazz… But it wasn't the 'veil' card! Where was that thing?!

No sooner than that, Chazz beat the professional duelist with two attacks at once. Monsters he had were quite powerful… The man fell to the ground. The five of us stared in surprise.

"He took out a pro…" Hassleberry trailed off. "And with Sartorius' cards, no one can beat him now." Aster mused. "Wait," I looked at him slightly surprised. "Are we completely sure he gave Chazz those cards?" "No one else had ever heard of those cards before." He told me with a shrug. "They even have 'white' in its name." Hassleberry reminded me of what I had thought earlier.

That meant they were also convinced in it…

"Has he used his 'veil' card already?" I then spoke up perplexed. "How do you know about 'White Veil'?" Bastion raised an eyebrow in surprise. "White Veil?" Jaden wondered aloud. "It's a card Chazz had used to defeat Alexis in their duel. I think you two were still locked up back then." Hassleberry glanced at Jaden and me back and forth for a few moments.

Bastion's grey eyes then landed on me. "I heard two students talking about it while sneaking in. Apparently, most loyal followers received it from Sartorius. I think Ben has one as well." I explained. "

"Well, who's next?" Chazz's voice made me look up. "How about you, Jaden? I've been waiting for a rematch since last year, and now you're all mine!" He declared while taking the unknown duelist's medals. "Who? Me?" Jaden glanced at him in surprise. "Yes, you! How did you not realize that? Were you on another planet?" Chazz seemed to be annoyed.

"Actually, I _was_…" Jaden trailed off. I looked at him in surprise. _What in the world _was _that_ about?! "Why do I bother?" Chazz grumbled. "Oh, you meant that as an insult…" Jaden fell to the ground with a laugh. "Very perceptive." The black-haired guy glared before suggesting they duel tomorrow.

"Wait, I'm confused…" "What's new?" Chazz cut him off in annoyance. "Your deck is different… What happened to all your Ojamas cards?" Jaden questioned. I looked in his direction and slightly tilted my head to right in confusion. "Those freaks are gone now." Chazz looked away. "But they were your favorites!" Jaden exclaimed. "Come on… You remember! How could you forget those cute 'bug' eyes and those bikini briefs?"

By now, I absolutely had _no idea_ what kind of cards Jaden was referring to. I certainly didn't know any Ojan cards that also had _bikini briefs_…

"Who needs those freaks yapping in their ear? Let them go ruin someone else's life!" Chazz started walking away with a scowl. "Just let the guy go," Aster started. "Come on, let's go see who else is dueling around here." "Shouldn't you be dueling someone?" "What can I say? Everyone's avoiding me, well, except for these guys…" Aster held out a hand full of medals. He then offered them to Hassleberry, claiming they were weighing his pockets.

"Wait," I spoke up. "You still have that thing with you?" I asked. Aster looked at me, knowing what I was talking about. He nodded. "You're talking about that thing Serena had accidentally got from the White Dorm?" Bastion presumed. I nodded.

"I'm still not sure what it is…" I trailed off. "It must be important, since we've seen the Prince give that to Sartorius." Hassleberry presumed. "I know, but knowing what exactly its purpose is would make things easier." I folded my arms with a frown. "Whatever it is, I have no intention of giving it to him. I don't think he even knows you had given it to me." Aster commented. "Did he even notice it missing?" Jaden wondered aloud.

I frowned. "He must have." "But then why didn't Chazz mention it to you? He should be aware of what happened." Bastion pointed out. "I don't know. Aunt Maria already knew about it, which was why she walked into the infirmary…" I trailed off. "Now I'm just praying he won't accuse me of attempted theft." I then crossed fingers on both of my hands.

"Maybe he doesn't want to stand out." The British guy suggested. "He's already standing out…" Hassleberry pointed out with a sigh. "Yeah, but accusing Serena would draw even more attention to both of them. Then people will want to know what happened. Sartorius had mentioned earlier he would rather not stand out as the new student here…" Bastion reminded. "If that _is _the case, then good for him, and good for me." I muttered.

I let out a yawn, and grabbed my throbbing head. "Just a headache." I then told Jaden once I saw him staring at me.

"Oh, there you are." A familiar voice made me spin around in surprise. Ben walked up to us with a scowl on his face. "Losers, and a wretch…" He trailed off smugly. "What do you want?" Aster raised an eyebrow. "Nothing concerning you, Phoenix." My cousin spat.

That was when I noticed. His green eyes looked different. They looked so… _Empty_…. Before, they had shown anger whenever he saw me. But now, there was no emotion in them. As far as I knew, it _wasn't _normal for a person to have such eyes…

"What happened to his eyes?" Hassleberry questioned a bit alarmed. "I guess Sartorius did something to him." Aster guessed with his arms folded.

While I knew he was right, that answer still filled me with dread. Ben's past behavior was bad enough, but this was _even worse_… He literally looked like a mindless puppet now…

I still wasn't sure what that force's problem was. But I knew one thing. It always found a new way to torture me…

Those empty, green eyes landed on me. "I've come here to settle some things," He started coldly. "Master Sartorius wants back what you had stolen from him." The moment he said it, the feeling of dread started growing stronger. "I don't have it." I replied with a frown, trying to ignore it.

I should have known my theft attempt would come back with bigger consequences than three broken ribs. Maybe Sartorius really refused to draw attention to himself by accusing me of theft attempt. That was most probably why he sent Ben to get that thing instead. Those thoughts didn't help me feel better though…

Ben lunged forward, as if he wanted to grab me violently. I couldn't react properly, since jumping would mean probably messing up my ribs even more. Thankfully, Jaden jumped in front of me. "Stop it, Ben! That's your own cousin!" He exclaimed. "Stop defending the lying wretch. She's a thief!" Ben spat.

Quite frankly, I've had enough of it. I was sick of Ben's hateful behavior towards me. I knew it wasn't his fault, but it still hurt. I had the biggest urge to tell him to just go and not come back! At this point, I didn't know what was worse, my escape from the White Dorm or Ben treating me like that. They were _equally _bad…

"I've told you; I don't have that stick with me. You can go back to Sartorius and tell him that." I growled. "I'm not going back until you give me what you had stolen from him." Ben glared. "If that's his problem, then why did he send _you _to retrieve it? Why didn't he come himself?" I demanded icily. "What Master Sartorius does is none of your business. Just give me that thing!" I could hear he was near to losing his patience.

"Ben, she told you the truth. She doesn't have it." Bastion spoke up, making my cousin glare at the British guy. "No one asked for your opinion." He spat.

His eyes then turned back to me. "Since you don't want to obey… Let's settle this with a duel. When I win, you'll give it to me." He suggested smugly.

The moment those words came out of his mouth, I felt panic wash over me. I _didn't _expect him to challenge me to a duel… And he was already sure he was going to win! There was no way I was going to accept that challenge… My skills weren't match against people from the Society yet!

"I _won't _duel." I frowned. "Then give me the thing!" Ben shouted angrily, making me flinch in shock. "I don't have it…" "Either you give it now, or after I win the duel. Your choice." He hissed, cutting me off in process.

That was when a hand landed on my shoulder. "Serena, you should accept it." I looked to the side to see Jaden giving me an encouraging look. "Are you crazy?! If we duel now, I'll lose! I'm no match for the Society Of Light!" I hissed to him.

"It's not like you haven't dueled since you came out of the infirmary. Besides, you'll never know until you try." He pointed out. A frown appeared on my face. "This duel can go wrong on so many levels… If I lose, then I'll have to give him something that's not with me!" I replied seriously. "And how can you know how the duel is going to play out? Only Sartorius can see the future." Aster spoke up with a frown.

"It's not hard to guess my predicament." I replied coldly, although I was sure Sartorius had already predicted my doom. "And, how, if I may ask, do you think it's going to play out?" Aster tilted his head to right, daring me to answer his question. "Either I'll mess it up, or Sartorius will pull out some completely unknown cards and give them to Ben and I'll mess up either way." I replied immediately.

I heard a groan from my right. "That's not guessing. That's _panicking_." Bastion spoke up matter-of-factly once I looked in his direction. "Call it whatever you want, because he," I looked in Ben's direction for a few moments. "Can forget about dueling." I folded my arms. "Soldier…" Hassleberry trailed off while shaking his head in what seemed to be disapproval.

"This is a good chance to try to free him from Sartorius' hold. Don't you want that?" Jaden looked at me. "I _do_… But I also don't want to lose." I replied firmly. "You won't know until you try." He repeated. "Easy for you to say, you…" "You'll never be ready like that if you don't try it." I was cut off yet again.

I kept looking at Jaden for a few moments. I didn't understand why he had so much confidence in me, since I didn't have it at all…

"_You have to be brave, and you have to be ready for new things." _Those words were echoing in my head. It sounded like I heard them a long time ago, even though it's barely been a year and a half…

When I was first told I'd attend some sort of academy, I promised I'd try to be brave. A year passed. Then what happened?

I was avoiding my cousin who needed me the most at the moment. I couldn't recognize him anymore. I really felt like I wasn't ready to try to fight the Society… My loss against Sartorius proved that already. But was it worth ignoring Ben? He looked more like an empty shell than an actual person…

Would more won duels and medals even change my opinion? I could win against students here, but still not dare to show my face in front of the Society… Telling yourself something was one thing, while looking at danger in face was completely different… If I won, would I still have guts to go after both him and my aunt?

Words were words. They were nothing compared to actions. I kept saying I'd help them. But now I was turning down Ben's offer because of my fear…

I wasn't sure whether dueling Ben would really free him from that thing's hold. However, I couldn't stand seeing him like that anymore. I felt ashamed of myself for ignoring him when he needed help the most. Maybe he really would pull out some of Sartorius' crazy cards and beat me. Maybe he would beat me even without them. But losing would mean I had at least tried…

"_Fine_," I looked up into Ben's empty, green eyes. "If it's a duel you want, then it's a duel you shall get." I spat angrily, lifting up my Duel Disk. "That's it, Serena." Jaden grinned.

"Since you chose the harder way," He looked at me. "Right here, in an hour." With those words, he marched away from us.

**Yeah, Serena and Ben are **_**so **_**having a rematch in the next chapter… Hopefully, this time it won't end in a draw, but we'll see… ;)**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! :)**


	33. The Rematch

**Ayayacchi: Thank you for reviewing! I'm looking forward to it as well… :)**

**Kim Nanoha: Hahaha, well, here it is! :)**

**Daileywishaw24: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :)**

**Well, let the fun begin!**

**I only own my OC's!**

The moment Ben was out of my sight, I immediately took my deck out of the box. I started looking through all of my cards to make sure they were there.

"What are you doing?" Jaden spoke up. "Checking to see whether all the cards are here." I responded, still going through them. "Just chill out, they are." "I still have to…"

I was suddenly grabbed by my shoulders gently. "If you keep acting so frantically, then your panic will increase." My eyes moved away from the cards. I looked up to meet Jaden's chocolate brown eyes. "How am I supposed to be sure without looking at them?" A frown appeared on my face.

While I did accept the duel proposition, that didn't mean I wasn't nervous…

"I think you'll do just fine. All you have to do is trust your deck." He smiled. "Are you sure about that?" I questioned. "100 percent." He nodded, still smiling. I kept staring at him for few moments.

Even though I still had this urge to keep looking through the cards, I decided not to. Jaden believed I would do good. I knew he couldn't predict the future, or something like that. Still, he believed in me. That fact made me feel at ease. And it had nothing to do with his dueling. I couldn't care less how he dueled. He was my friend, and he had just shown support for me.

"Fine." I finally nodded, putting the deck back in its box. "But the question is, where did the soldier go?" Hassleberry raised an eyebrow. "Most probably to the White Dorm." Aster responded, closing his eyes for a few moments. "He _was _heading in that direction…" Jaden trailed off.

"Most probably gone to tell Sartorius I decided to duel." I muttered before looking at Aster. "Whatever happens, please, don't give that stick to Ben. Don't even mention you have it." I pleaded. "I certainly wasn't planning on it." The professional duelist nodded with his arms folded.

He then looked at me. "Although I'm quite sure that's not a 'stick', as you refer to it." "I know it isn't, but I don't know what it is either." I reminded with a frown. "The important thing is not to let Ben know you have it." Bastion reminded, stopping our discussion. Aster simply nodded.

I sat on the grass, not knowing what else to do. "Why in an hour? Why not now?" I questioned in a bit of annoyance.

It would have been even better if I had just dealt with Ben earlier than waited… "Maybe to give him time to get some cards from Sartorius." Hassleberry guessed, walking up to me. I pursed my lips for a few moments. "Probably." I said simply, trying not to think about that possibility.

"What are you going to do about your duel with Chazz?" I then looked up at Jaden curiously. "I was thinking about looking for his Ojamas until Ben challenged you." He explained. "I'll probably go looking for them, but after your duel." "What are those 'Ojan' things?" I spoke up in confusion.

That question made him start laughing. I slightly tilted my head to left, still feeling perplexed. "Sorry, but it's _Ojama_, not Ojan." He explained sheepishly. "That name sounds similar to the Prince's name, so I can't really tell them apart." I admitted with a shrug. "You mentioned those monsters had bikini briefs?" I then reminded in confusion.

"Yeah," Jaden nodded. "And they are Chazz's favorite monsters." I simply nodded.

* * *

Half an hour passed. It went incredibly slow… At one point, I walked back to my room to take one of painkillers. It would be bad if I started feeling pain right in the middle of the duel… I wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Without those painkillers, I was completely useless!

That was when I could see Ben marching up to where we were.

"I thought you said in an hour?" I asked in confusion once I got to my feet. He finally stopped in front of us. "Change of plans. We'll duel _now_." He glared. "Fine." I frowned, grabbing the deck out of my box and putting it in my Duel Disk.

"Show him, Serena." Jaden grinned. "Good luck, soldier." Hassleberry nodded, with Bastion nodding as well. Aster looked at them and then at me for a few moments. "Thanks. I have no intention of losing." I simply nodded. "Well, stop giving yourself false hope. Master Sartorius has already predicted your loss." Ben growled, activating his Duel Disk.

I activated mine as well before looking up. In all honesty, I wasn't surprised by that statement at all. I had already thought he had most probably predicted my doom, and Ben was already acting as if victory was his… But, right now, I didn't care. He and Sartorius could go claiming whatever the hell they wanted. I knew the latter's predictions were never wrong, but I was too angry to care about it right now…

I just wanted to try to bring my cousin back to his senses. I wasn't even sure this would help him. Just because people became brainwashed by losing against Society, that didn't mean they would be free by losing against normal people… That was my best guess at the moment though, and it was worth a try.

"I don't give a damn about what Sartorius had predicted," I looked up with a frown. "Just take out your cards and let's duel!" I shouted, drawing five cards from my deck. The response I got from him was a growl while he was drawing his five cards as well.

**Ben: 4000 LP**

**Me: 4000 LP**

"I'll start!" I declared, drawing my sixth card. I looked at all of them for a few moments before nodding. I knew where to start. "I'll summon Desert Fox in Defense Mode." The fox appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1600)**. "I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." I finished.

Ben drew his sixth card. "I summon White Kangaroo in Attack Mode." A white kangaroo appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1000/900)**. My eyebrows furrowed.

This looked nothing like Ben's old deck… Which meant that Sartorius had given those cards to him. The 'white' part in the card's name only proved it! Where the hell he got those cards from, I had no idea…

"When this monster's on the field, you're not allowed to use any facedown cards you set. They're utterly useless." Ben smiled smugly at me. "What?!" My eyes widened in surprise. "YOU HEARD IT!" He shouted with his right fist lifted up.

Suddenly, wind started blowing. It went towards my two facedowns, before they disappeared. I looked up at him in astonishment.

I had been in bad situations before when it came to dueling. However, the only thing similar to this one was when Sartorius' card didn't allow me to summon monsters. Now what could I do without my trap cards?! 'Flowing Back' and 'Defensive Mimicry' definitely could have helped me, if he hadn't summoned that monster…

"I'll finish the turn with two facedowns." Ben spoke up with that smug smile still on his face. "Fine, then," I spoke up and drew one card. "You asked for war, and you got it, _cugino_." I growled. "I activate 'Pot Of Greed', which allows me to draw two cards." I activated the card before drawing two more.

"Then I'll use 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy one of your…" "_Not happening_, because I activate my facedown 'Whiteout', to negate the effect of your Spell Card!" One of Ben's facedowns suddenly revealed itself. "What?!" I stared at it in shock before the card in my hand vanished. "I told you victory was mine…" A sinister grin appeared on his face.

Never have I seen such look from my own cousin… It frightened me a bit. _However_, it also made me want to wipe the grin off his face.

I looked at my remaining four cards for a moment. "I'll summon Forest Fungus in Attack Mode." I put the card in its slot. The monster appeared **(****ATK/DEF:500/800)**. "Then I'll activate my Field Spell, 'Earth'!" The slot on the Duel Disk meant for Field Spells opened itself. I put the card there and it closed.

Scenery around us changed, showing different habitats around the world.

"When it's activated, all monsters on your side of field lose 600 Attack Points, and mine gain the same amount." I spoke up. "And my Fungus has another Special Effect, which is to absorb your monster's Attack Points."

The fungus flew to the kangaroo and tied its hands around it. Both of them started glowing in green color, with the fungus' Attack Points increasing instantly **(****ATK/DEF:2100/800)**. The monster flew back to me. "I end my turn." I finished, knowing there was nothing more I could do.

"My turn." Ben smiled smugly and drew another card. "I summon White Tiger in Attack Mode." A white tiger appeared on the field, baring its teeth **(****ATK/DEF:1500/700)**. "While this monster is on the field, you can't use any of your monster's Special Effects. They're disabled…" He trailed off with satisfaction in his voice present.

I gasped, just as the fungus' points fell to 1100. This time, I could hear the others commenting on my terrible predicament.

"Oh, no…" That sounded like Hassleberry. "Without her monster's Special Effects, she doesn't stand a chance." Bastion stated. "Harsh, soldier?" Again, Hassleberry. "Serena's deck is mostly of monsters with Special Effects or normal ones. Now she can't use their effects, nor Trap Cards." Jaden pointed out. "Sartorius found out how her deck worked when they had that duel. That's why he gave Ben those cards to counter it." Aster commented. At hearing his words, I briefly glanced at the guys out of a corner of my eye. They seemed to be rather surprised by this development.

I wasn't going to lie… Bastion, Aster and Jaden all had a point! Sartorius must have given that deck to Ben on purpose. He knew what my deck was like, due to that duel from before. Then, Jaden was also right about my deck mostly having monsters depending on their Special Effects. Finally, Bastion also had a point that I stood no chance without being able to use them, plus I couldn't use my Trap Cards…

Where could have Sartorius got those cards from, I didn't know. But he did a freaking good job to try to sabotage me… He was damn serious about wanting that stick back.

"Then I'll activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon', to destroy your Field Spell," Ben's voice broke my train of thoughts. I looked up in panic, my heart rate increasing at insane speed. "So say goodbye to your precious Earth!" He let out an evil laugh, lifting up the card in his right hand.

Before I knew it, scenery around us disappeared completely. I took the card out of its slot and discarded it with a frown. "Then I'll activate my other facedown, 'Lockdown'." Ben's second facedown revealed itself, making me even more nervous.

"Thanks to this, I can select one of your monsters in Defense Mode and force it into Attack. And, I pick your fox!" My eyes looked from the fox to his monsters. "That changes nothing. My fox's still stronger than both of your monsters." I pointed out icily. "Oh, but there's one detail I forgot to mention." My cousin responded with an insane grin all over his face.

"Not only does it force a monster in Attack Mode, it also lowers its Attack Points by 1000!" "What?!" My eyes widened yet again. "How is it possible? Whatever she does, it's useless against him!" I could hear Hassleberry pointing out. "Sartorius planned it out like that." Aster responded by saying the most obvious thing.

How… How was I supposed to fight Ben like this?! He had perfect strategy to take out all of my cards! All he had to do was prevent me from summoning monsters and using Spell Cards, and the duel would be over! It was insane how those 'white animals' cards managed to bring me to my knees…

"White Kangaroo, attack her Desert Fox! White Tiger, attack her Forest Fungus!" He pointed at both of my monsters. Both white monsters flew to my own ones and attacked them. As soon as they destroyed them, smoke appeared. I quickly covered my eyes. That destruction definitely cost me Life Points.

I quickly looked at my Duel Disk to see how many Life Points I had left. Now I had 2800…

**Ben: 4000 LP**

**Me: 2800 LP**

"I end my turn." My cousin commented.

I drew another card and added it to remaining two ones in my left hand. I looked at all of them.

I had only two options left. It was to try to somehow fight back with Spell Cards, or with monsters without Special Effects. That fact made me feel a bit like a disabled person… It was like I didn't have one leg or one arm to lean on! Preventing me from using things that helped me was a dirty trick. I never did that to any of my opponents!

But that was that thing we were talking about. It didn't give a damn about harming people or playing nice. Its only wish was to please that stupid Light…

"I'll activate 'Card Of Sanctity', which makes both of us draw cards until we have 6." Both of us drew four cards.

I knew I was giving him more chances of kicking my butt, but I was in desperate need of some good Spell Cards or monsters without Special Effects.

"I summon Island Lava Cactus in Defense Mode." I put the card in its intended slot. The monster appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:700/2000)**. Maybe I wasn't able to use its Special Effect, but it was still some sort of defense…

"Then I'll activate 'Fair In War'," I took another card out of my left hand and lifted it up. "Which means both of us lose amount of Life Points equal to the lowest amount of Attack Points of a monster on my side of field." I explained. "Since I only have Lava Cactus, I think you know how many…" I then trailed off, just as I could hear an explosion.

I covered my eyes from the blowing wind and smoke, as both of our Life Points dropped.

**Ben: 3300 LP**

**Me: 2100 LP**

I knew wasting my Life Points wasn't exactly the smartest idea. But what else could I do, since my hand was filled with Trap Cards and monsters I couldn't use right now? I was literally praying for a good draw, if I survived Ben's next turn…

"I end my turn." I said, knowing there was nothing else that could help me right now.

Ben drew another card. "I activate 'Power-up'," He lifted it up in his right hand. "Now one of my monsters can receive 1000 more Attack Points for one turn." A frown briefly appeared on his face. "But in order to do that, I have to pay 600 Life Points."

**Ben: 2700 LP**

**Me: 2100 LP**

"And I pick White Kangaroo!" At that moment, the monster started glowing with white light as its Attack Points grew. "Then I activate 'Block out'." He lifted up another card in his hand. "Thanks to this card, you're not allowed to Normal Summon any monster as long as the card is on the field. I can't summon any monster on this turn because of its activation." Another smug smile appeared on my cousin's face.

By now, I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was like I was a person in a wheelchair… I couldn't use Trap Cards, I couldn't use Special Effects, and now I couldn't even Normal Summon?! My Spell Cards couldn't do much all by themselves, apart from the one I had already used… But I lost some of my Life Points just to damage his!

This felt quite familiar to my duel with Sartorius, except that this one was even worse. Sartorius prevented me from summoning monsters, while Ben prevented me from doing pretty much everything!

"As far as I'm concerned, we can stop this duel right now so you don't embarrass yourself any further…" Ben trailed off smugly. "Just give me what Master Sartorius wants."

I found myself trembling. I could clearly see my hands shaking. It didn't help Ben now had an evil grin all over his face… He knew he had me right in a corner. "Oh, what's the matter? The wretch is scared?" He asked mockingly.

I really wanted to try to win this duel. I really wanted to try to get Ben back to his senses. However, right now, I felt like the outcome of the duel was set in stone. I felt like I couldn't do anything. I had told myself earlier that even if I lost, that it would mean I at least tried. Unfortunately, those words didn't help me at all right now…

"Serena!" Jaden's voice made my head spin in his direction. I started blinking rapidly to get rid of brimming tears in my eyes.

"The duel is not over until the last card is played, remember? You can still turn things around." He spoke up with a knowing look. I kept staring at him for a few moments.

Those words sounded quite familiar… And now I knew why. When Jaden first introduced me to dueling, I usually lost every duel. At one point, I even tried to give up, since I knew I'd lose anyway. But he always told me that the duel wasn't over until the last card was played. I kept those words in mind, even though I lost a lot of times after that.

But then I figured out Jaden used the same strategy over and over… It was a blur to me, but he used to summon some monsters over and over again. I then beat him a few times, until Aunt Maria told him he couldn't use the same strategy all the time.

However, that wasn't important right now. What mattered were Jaden's words. I wouldn't surrender until Ben officially took out the last of my Life Points.

"You're right." I nodded to him with a thankful look. I then turned my attention back to Ben. "Well? Will you surrender or not?!" He demanded impatiently. "NO!" I shouted with a glare. "Your decision…" My cousin let out a growl.

"WHITE KANGAROO, ATTACK HER LAVA CACTUS!" He roared, clenching his right fist. The white monster flew to mine, and attacked it with its tail. I covered my eyes as more smoke appeared, and my monster was destroyed.

Then, I could hear Ben shouting again. "WHITE TIGER, ATTACK HER DIRECTLY!" I quickly looked up, just as the tiger slashed at me with its claws. I yelped in pain. More of my Life Points disappeared.

**Ben: 2700 LP**

**Me: 600 LP**

"I'll end my turn with a facedown." Ben set a facedown.

I drew another card, before looking at all of them. Finally, I looked up, praying some of these would actually help me not lose.

"I activate 'Graceful Charity'," I took the card from my left hand and lifted it up. "Which means I can draw three cards but I have to discard two of them." I quickly drew three cards and then discarded two from my hand I had just drawn.

I could feel relief washing over me as I looked at all of my cards. Finally, there was something I could actually do with them…

"I'll start by activating 'Nature Healing'," I lifted up the card in my right hand. "For every card that's in my hand, I gain 300 Life Points." I smirked for a moment. "Since I have four right now, I don't think I need to spell it out to you how many Life Points that is."

**Ben: 2700 LP**

**Me: 1800 LP**

"You've just delayed your defeat." Ben scoffed. I ignored his words and looked through my cards again.

"Then I'll activate 'Mother Nature', which lets me Special Summon a monster from my hand. And I pick Wetland Dingo!" I cried. The monster appeared on the field in Attack Mode **(****ATK/DEF:2400/1800)**.

I eyed both of Ben's monsters for a moment, wondering which one to go for. If I got rid of one, I would be able to use my Trap Cards again, and if I got rid of the other one, I could use Special Effects… I still had to figure out how to get rid of his stupid Spell Card.

"Wetland Dingo, attack his White Kangaroo!" I finally shouted. The dingo let out a howl and ran towards the monster before slashing at it. It was destroyed, and smoke appeared. Ben's Life Points dropped as well.

**Ben: 1300 LP**

**Me: 1800 LP**

I quickly looked at my gear and saw we now had similar amount of Life Points. Thank goodness…

"Due to destroying my monster, you activated my Trap Card 'Aid'." Ben glared, revealing his facedown. "Once one of my monsters is destroyed, the other one gains its Attack Points for one turn."

That didn't sound good at all. That meant his White Tiger would have 2500 Attack Points now… But at least I could use my Trap Cards again!

"I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." I spoke up and set the remaining two cards from my left hand. Now I had none of them until my next draw…

Ben drew another card. "I'll summon White Alligator in Attack Mode." The monster appeared, growling **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1000)**.

"But isn't that the same thing as a crocodile?" I could hear Jaden wondering aloud from my right. "No, it's not." I briefly looked in his direction before my eyes turned back to the monster.

I had to focus on the duel. I would explain to him the differences between alligators and crocodiles under better circumstances.

"With this card on the field, I gain the amount of Life Points equal to half of your monster's Attack Points." "What?!" I shouted in surprise, making a smug smile appear on my cousin's face yet again. "I guess you know how to count…" He trailed off. The crocodile and my dingo started glowing with white light, and Ben started glowing to. His Life Points rose to 2500.

**Ben: 2500 LP**

**Me: 1800 LP**

He was nearly back to square one when it came to his Life Points… All that work for nothing!

"Then I'll activate 'Reshuffle'!" He lifted up another card in his hand. My eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and curiosity. I could only guess what he wanted to do with that card…

"With this card, both of us put cards from our hands in the deck, and shuffle it once. We then draw six cards each." Ben explained, already taking his deck out of the Duel Disk. "If you say so." I shrugged with a frown and took out my deck as well. I shuffled it and put it back in my Duel Disk. After that, I pulled out six cards. Ben did so as well.

My guess was he wasn't happy with cards he had had before, which was why he decided to try to get something better… But how _couldn't _he be happy?! He had all the cards he needed to prevent me from dueling!

I looked at all of my cards. At that moment, I felt excited. I had a chance to turn things around once again!

"I'll end my turn." As soon as I heard those words, I drew another card. "Wetland Dingo, attack his White Tiger!" I then lifted up my right hand.

The dingo ran towards the white animal and slashed at it. As soon as the tiger was destroyed, smoke appeared. Ben briefly covered his eyes, but then looked me in the eyes with this… Smug look. It was like he wasn't fazed at all with losing his monster.

**Ben: 1600 LP**

**Me: 1800 LP**

"Now that your White Tiger is gone, I discard River Otter." I quickly discarded the card from my left hand. "What good will it bring to you?" Ben started laughing mockingly. "Once River Otter is banished to graveyard, I'm allowed to destroy one Spell Card on the field…" I trailed off with a smirk. "And you have only one." I then reminded.

The card was destroyed instantly. However, to my surprise, Ben didn't seem to be upset at all. In fact, it looked like he was rather amused.

Why would he be? I had just managed to get back Normal Summoning and using Special Effects…

"If you think that will help you, then you're even more pathetic than I thought." He let out another mocking laugh. I stared at him for a few moments, not knowing what to think about his behavior. "I end my turn."

At that moment, I felt tiredness. Mrs. Fontaine told me not to over exhaust myself. I had no intention of doing that, and I never expected the duel to last this long… This was the longest duel I've had so far! I just hoped it would come to close soon, no matter what its results were…

"The White Alligator's effect activates again." Ben drew another card with a smug smile. Yet again, the alligator, my dingo, and him started glowing with white light. My cousin's Life Points rose to 2800.

**Ben: 2800 LP**

**Me: 1800 LP**

"Then I'll summon White Koala in Attack Mode." The white monster appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1000/1000)**. "For each card in your hand, it gains 300 Attack Points." My eyes widened as I counted how many cards I had left. _Six_… That meant it would gain 1800 points!

"Now, attack her Wetland Dingo!" I quickly covered my eyes, bracing myself for upcoming smoke as the dingo was destroyed. My Life Points dropped to 1400.

**Ben: 2800 LP**

**Me: 1400 LP**

"Because you've destroyed my monster," I quickly looked up. "I can now activate my Trap Card, 'Perfect Harmony'!" I cried, as the facedown revealed itself. "Thanks to this, I can choose one Level 3 or lower monster from my graveyard and summon it! And I choose Desert Rose!"

The monster appeared on my side of the field in Attack Mode **(****ATK/DEF:1000/500)**. "YOU'RE CHEATING! THAT MONSTER WAS NEVER ON YOUR GRAVEYARD!" Ben roared angrily. "I'm not." I shook my head with a frown.

"In case you forgot, I had to discard two cards because of 'Graceful Charity' being in play. One of those was Desert Rose." I smirked. "Fine, it still won't help you." He growled. "Then why did you get so upset over my 'cheating'? You didn't see that coming?" I raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "SHUT IT!" He then roared yet again.

I stared at him for a few moments without saying anything. "I end my turn." He finally said, still angry.

After drawing another card, I wanted to scream mentally. None of the cards I had were strong enough to do bigger damage to him, or his monsters… I could just leave a few facedowns, maybe use my Mountain Wolf, and that was it!

"I summon Mountain Wolf in Attack Mode." I put the card in its slot. The wolf appeared on the field, howling **(****ATK/DEF:800/1500)**. "Thanks to its Special Effect, it can attack you directly." I looked up. "Go, attack him!" I then shouted.

The wolf raced towards Ben before slashing at him with its claws. His Life Points dropped to 2000 in process.

**Ben: 2000 LP**

**Me: 1400 LP**

"I'll set three facedowns and end my turn." I set them with a frown.

Ben drew once again. "Finally, we can say this duel is over…" He gave me a sinister grin.

That definitely wasn't a good sign… Whatever he had in plan; it was _bad_.

"I summon White Lion in Attack Mode." The monster appeared on the field **(****ATK/DEF:1800/1800)**. "But it won't stick around, because I sacrifice the White Koala and the White Lion to summon… WHITE PEACOCK!" He roared the last part, clenching his right fist. Two monsters disappeared.

Suddenly, wind started blowing violently. I covered my eyes with arms, just as light appeared as well. After the wind stopped and the light disappeared, I finally looked up. A huge, elegant-looking, white peacock was on the field **(****ATK/DEF:2500/2300)**. It spread out its white feathers. I had to admit, it looked quite majestic…

My eyes widened in astonishment. Then, I started trembling a bit.

That thing had _a lot _of Life Points… And if it attacked me, then I would lose… But then, I remembered. I still had the monster in my hand. Only it could save me, if Ben somehow didn't find a way to disable it…

"And now, its effect activates…" Ben grinned sinisterly yet again. "White Peacock gains 500 more Attack Points from both of the tributes I used to summon it!" The monster's points rose to 3500. "But I'm not done," My cousin then said _exactly _what I was afraid of hearing.

He lifted up another card in his right hand. "I equip my White Peacock with 'White Veil'!" Light blue light started glowing around the peacock.

So that was the famous 'White Veil' I'd heard so much about…

"_What does 'White Veil' do?" I asked Bastion and Hassleberry curiously while we were waiting for Ben to arrive. "We've only seen it once. Chazz used it to equip his dragon in that duel against Alexis." The latter explained._

"_When a monster equipped with 'White Veil' attacks, all of Trap and Spell Cards on the opponent's side of the field are destroyed. Their effects are negated as well." Bastion told me with a frown. _

That meant my Trap Cards were useless… However, thankfully, I didn't need them at the moment! I knew exactly how to survive the crazy monster's attack… And it filled me with this sudden excitement. Ben had absolutely _no idea_ what was coming!

I could hear the guys saying something, but I wasn't paying attention to it. My eyes didn't leave Ben, nor his monster.

"I told you victory would be mine…" He trailed off smugly. "Because when White Peacock attacks you, all of your Spell and Trap Cards will be destroyed thanks to the 'White Veil'!" "From what I heard; Sartorius had given you that card." I stated, looking right in my cousin's empty, green eyes. "He did, and it will be your undoing!" He glared.

I stayed quiet, eyeing the glowing monster. "It's over…" I could hear Hassleberry trailing off. "No, she must have something up her sleeves!" Jaden argued. "But what? Spell and Trap Cards are useless." Bastion pointed out.

"White Peacock, attack her Desert Rose!" The monster let out a cry and started flying towards my monster. At that moment, all of my facedowns were destroyed.

Knowing it was the only chance I had, I quickly sent one of my cards to the graveyard. Then, White Peacock attacked it. A lot of smoke appeared, and an explosion could be heard.

My guess was he went after the rose instead of the wolf because he didn't count on my plan. As far as he knew, the duel would be over anyway. Or maybe he wanted me to feel more pain, since Desert Rose had more Attack Points…

When smoke cleared, Desert Rose was gone. White Peacock flew back to Ben's side of the field.

I looked up at Ben with a smirk. "Nice try, _cugino_." "But how?! You were supposed to lose!" He shouted angrily. "By discarding Mystical Perython, I take no Battle Damage. I do have to pay 1000 Life Points though." I explained calmly.

**Ben: 2000 LP**

**Me: 400 LP**

"Luck." Ben scoffed. "However, you destroyed my monster, and now Desert Rose's Special Effect activates." I then spoke up. "I can destroy one card on your side of field… And I choose 'White Veil'!" I pointed at the mentioned card.

"WHAT?!" He shouted with his eyes wide. "You heard me. Say 'goodbye' to your precious card!" I smirked yet again. At that moment, the light blue light around the peacock disappeared. The 'White Veil' disappeared from the field.

Ben's eyes watched as it was sent to the graveyard. Then, he looked up at me. "HOW DARE YOU?!" He shouted angrily, making me flinch in utter shock. I could have sworn I heard yelps coming from the guys on my right side.

I definitely didn't expect such strong reaction from him… It frightened me. But it also made me feel pleased. Getting rid of Sartorius' card definitely upset my cousin. His attack didn't go as he had planned…

At that moment, it hit me. Ben said Sartorius had predicted my loss? Well, I managed to survive up until now… So much for losing!

"I end my turn." He let out a growl. "About time." I drew a card and felt relief wash over me once again.

"First, I'll activate 'Monster Reborn', to Special Summon Sacred Phoenix from my graveyard." I declared, lifting up the card in my right hand. "You never used that card." Ben growled. "I discarded it during the effect of 'Graceful Charity'." I reminded.

I then clenched my right fist. "So, say 'hello' to Sacred Phoenix!" I cried.

Wind started blowing violently. Then in a burst of fire, and red, gold and orange light, Sacred Phoenix appeared with a roar **(ATK/DEF:2800/2500)**. "When it's summoned, I'm allowed to draw three cards from my deck." I then spoke up, drawing them.

"I activate 'Double Boost', which will double the Phoenix's Attack Points for one turn." I then added and lifted up the card. The monster's points rose to 5600.

I could hear Ben's eyes widening for a moment.

He was scared. This duel didn't go as he thought it would. I had everything I needed to win…

"Mountain Wolf, attack him directly!" I then ordered. The wolf let out a howl and ran towards my cousin. It slashed at him with its claws, costing him more Life Points.

**Ben: 1200 LP**

**Me: 400 LP**

"Sacred Phoenix, attack his White Peacock!" I cried and lifted up my right hand. With another mighty roar, the phoenix flew to the monster. It spat fire at it, destroying it in process. Smoke appeared.

Ben let out a loud shout, before falling to the ground. All of his Life Points dropped to zero.

**Ben: 0 LP**

**Me: 400 LP**

I let out a sigh of relief and turned off my Duel Disk. At that moment, all of the monsters disappeared, along with the smoke.

Suddenly, I felt even more tired. Thank goodness this duel ended before I got completely exhausted… Mrs. Fontaine wouldn't have allowed me to duel ever again during the tournament. I wasn't even sure I would have lasted that long if I hadn't taken painkillers right before the duel!

That was when someone pulled me into a hug. "Serena, you did it! You won!" Jaden cried happily. "I did." I grinned and hugged him back. "But thanks to you." I then reminded with a frown once we pulled away. "I didn't do anything." He shook his head. "You reminded me it wasn't over yet." "Yeah, but you beat Ben yourself. It was an awesome duel." A grin appeared on his face.

Joy and excitement washed over me. I actually beat someone from the Society Of Light… I won! Before this duel, I had thought it was an impossible feat….

"Good job, soldier!" Hassleberry's voice made us turn around. He, Bastion and Aster walked up to us. "Thanks." I smiled. "Impressive win." The British guy nodded. "Thanks." I said yet again. Aster's dark blue eyes looked at the guys before landing on me. "Good duel." He spoke up coldly with a nod.

To be honest, I was surprised he even said that to me… But I smiled. "Thank you."

At that moment, my thoughts raced back to my cousin. He was still lying on the ground… I had to see whether he was fine!

"Ben!" I cried and quickly walked towards him. If it weren't for my stupid ribs, I would have run instead…

I quickly kneeled next to his form. Then, I grabbed him by his shoulders. I started shaking him vigorously. "Please, say something…" I trailed off frantically with my heart racing like crazy out of nervousness.

Quite frankly, I didn't know what to expect. He could just push me away violently like before. He could just stay unconscious. Or he could… He could… He could do something else! Still, I had to make sure he was alright…

Suddenly, I could hear groaning. "What… What happened?" My eyes widened as I quickly looked at my cousin's unmoving form. That was when he _moved his hands_. I quickly took hands off his shoulders and backed away a bit, not knowing what else to expect.

Slowly, he sat up. Then, his head turned in _my direction_. He looked up at me. To my huge relief, his eyes didn't look so empty anymore. They looked normal once again. However, I stayed on my guard.

"Cuzo… Why are you looking at me like that?" Ben gave me a perplexed look.

At that moment, I felt like my heart was about to burst with happiness and joy. I was overwhelmed. He called me 'cuzo', not 'wretch'… He was back… He was himself again!

"BEN!" I cried and threw myself at him. With a loud yelp, Ben found himself on his butt with me still hugging him. By now, I couldn't restrain myself from crying. Tears of joy were streaming down my cheeks freely.

"Serena, your ribs." I could hear Bastion reminding me. Throwing myself at Ben like that wasn't smart with my broken ribs… But, right now, I didn't give a damn. Nothing else mattered to me right now. "Forget about my ribs, Ben is back to normal!" I retorted while still hugging my cousin.

But then, I felt him pulling away. "Listen, Serena, I'm happy to see you too… But why are you acting so weird?" Ben looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I stared at him in astonishment.

Did he just forget about the whole duel we had, and how he had treated me earlier?

"You don't remember?" Jaden spoke up in surprise. "I don't remember what?" Ben frowned. "Why are all of you looking at me like that?" He then demanded perplexed. I quickly looked at others who were staring at my cousin. They were as confused as I was…

"You don't remember that you were a part of the Society Of Light? You don't remember Sartorius sending you here to get back what I had got from his room?" I spoke up. "'Society Of Light'? Isn't that what Chazz mentioned? And why are you bringing Sartorius into this? Isn't he miss…" It appeared that the more I stared at him, the more uncomfortable he felt. That's why he stopped talking at that moment. "Why are you all staring at me like that?" He then spoke up.

It looked like he really didn't remember anything… How was that possible?!

"I believe we owe him some explanations." Bastion let out a sigh. "Definitely." I nodded with a sigh and stood up. Then, I offered a hand to Ben, who took it with a small smile.

**Well, Ben's back, people! About time that happened! Well, anyway, writing this duel took me quite a while, so I hope you liked their rematch! But now comes the more complicated part… Explaining everything to Ben. Good luck to Serena with that, especially with recent discoveries Ben's not aware of yet…**

**Anyway, since it's been a year since I've posted this story, I want to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed so far! :)**

**The next chapter still takes place during 'Blinded By The Light', just to make that clear.**

**I hope you liked it and until next time! ;)**


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